L. Lin Wood Jr.

Reported

A September 24, 2014 Attorney at Law Magazine profile says that when he was 16 his father killed his mother “in a blackout following years of alcoholism and domestic violence,” that Wood raised money for his father’s defense, and that he attended Mercer University and its law school on scholarships, loans and part-time work.

Reported

Mercer’s February 5, 2016 gift announcement, as reprinted by TaxProf Blog, lists him as class of 1974 (College of Liberal Arts) and 1977 (law), and announced a $1 million L. Lin Wood Fund with a trial courtroom named for him; Georgia Public Broadcasting described the same degrees.

Reported

The 2014 profile says he began in Macon, moved to Atlanta in 1979, spent most of his first 19 years on medical-malpractice cases, and practiced at Powell Goldstein (later Bryan Cave) from 2006 to 2011 before returning to his own firm.

Reported

In 1996 Wood took a referral to represent Richard Jewell, the Olympic Park security guard named as a suspect after the bombing. Attorney at Law Magazine quotes him calling it “intensive on-the-job training in cases tried before the court of public opinion.”

Reported The New York Times reported on December 10, 1996 that NBC paid Jewell an undisclosed sum to avert a libel suit. CNN reported on January 28, 1997 a settlement with CNN that included a “financial component,” and quoted Wood: “It’s about money, permanent and significant damages. It’s also about accountability on the part of the government and the media.”

Reported

Jewell died in 2007 (Associated Press). The FBI never charged him; Eric Rudolph later pleaded guilty to the bombing.

Reported Associated Press reported on January 7, 2020 that CNN settled; terms were not disclosed (Bloomberg Law). AP and The Washington Post reported on July 24, 2020 that the Post settled, admitting no wrongdoing.

Reported

On Hannity Wood said coverage had given “the mob a megaphone.” In January 2021 Reuters quoted Sandmann ending the relationship: “I have ended my lawyer-client relationship with Mr. Wood.”

Reported

The Cincinnati Enquirer published Wood’s August 28, 2020 email saying he had helped form the #FightBack Foundation, a Texas nonprofit, and that “Kyle’s defense is one of those fronts.”

Reported ABC News reported on December 7, 2020 that Wood withdrew from the criminal case. After the 2021 acquittal Rittenhouse criticized Wood and the foundation in interviews.

Reported Just the News quoted his post that he was “right under established law”; Epoch Times reported a Supreme Court emergency petition; Fox News reported that Wood and Sidney Powell urged Georgians not to vote in the runoffs without changes; the AJC reported the Batten ruling.

Reported

On July 4, 2023 Wood asked the State Bar of Georgia for retired status. CNBC quoted the letter: “I understand that this request is unqualified, irrevocable and permanent,” and reported that his directory listing changed to “retired” on July 5. Associated Press reported that two pending disciplinary complaints were dismissed; The New York Times and Breitbart also covered it.

Reported Reuters reported in June 2021 that a federal judge dismissed Wood’s suit against the bar over a requested mental-health evaluation.

Reported

He told CNN: “I have retired from the active practice of law as I have been planning to do since late 2019.”

Reported

His 2014 interview described representing “clients who he believes are victims or underdogs” and seeking “accountability for genuine wrongdoing.”

Reported

On September 20, 2023 Fulton County prosecutors listed him as a state witness in the Georgia election case; he was not a defendant. He told the AJC: “I didn’t flip on President Trump.” NBC News and CNBC quoted his Telegram post: “I support President Trump 117%!”

Reported Associated Press reported that Georgia officials ruled he did not violate election laws in a separate inquiry into where he lived when he voted in 2020.