Todd and Julie Chrisley Sue Former Lawyer for $25 Million, Claim Legal Malpractice Led to Prison Time

Todd Chrisleyand wife Julie Chrisley are taking legal action against the attorney they say failed them — and the price tag on their claims is steep.

The Chrisley Knows Best stars filed a lawsuit against former lawyer Chris Anulewicz and his firm, Balch & Bingham, alleging legal malpractice in connection with the federal fraud case that landed them both in prison, according to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, per a Tuesday, June 9 report.

At the center of the complaint is a charge that Anulewicz was not qualified for the job — but took it anyway. According to the outlet, the couple claims the attorney “had no meaningful defense experience” and that the firm was aware, or should have been aware, of that deficiency. Rather than assign a more seasoned litigator, the lawsuit alleges the firm put Anulewicz on the case “because the Chrisley name meant money, publicity and the kind of high-profile notoriety that brings in business.”

Per the outlet, the legal filing goes further, accusing Anulewicz of using his position to personally profit from the attorney-client relationship. According to the documents, he allegedly “found time to steer the Chrisleys into a $75,000 investment in his brother-in-law’s startup food truck business — exploiting his position as their attorney to benefit himself and his family while neglecting his duty to them.”

The toll, the couple argues, has been devastating — personally and financially.

“They lost their television show and endorsement deals, costing them more than $25 million in income. Their reputations were destroyed,” the lawsuit states, adding that the pair has since spent millions more navigating appeals and post-conviction proceedings, according to the article. “A lawyer with actual criminal defense competence, supervised by a firm that took its professional obligations seriously, would never have let this happen.”

An attorney for Balch & Bingham and Anulewicz told the Associated Press that he could not comment since his clients had yet to be served, but added: “It will be vigorously defended.”

Todd, 57, and Julie, 53, were convicted by an Atlanta jury in June 2022 on charges of tax evasion, bank and wire fraud and conspiracy. He was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison; she received seven. In May 2025, President Donald Trump pardoned the pair. As In Touch previously reported, Trump, 79, addressed the couple’s children directly during a phone call stating, “It’s a terrible thing, but it’s a great thing, because your parents are going to be free and clean.”

The Chrisleys are now seeking more than $25 million in damages and have requested a jury trial, per the report.