Atlanta · GA · Vetted Directory

Business Contracts Lawyers in Atlanta

Drafting, negotiating, or fighting over a business contract in Atlanta? The 8 firms below handle the contracts that move most Atlanta companies — services agreements, software licenses, distribution and vendor contracts, NDAs, MSAs, SOWs, employment agreements, M&A purchase agreements, and the disputes when those contracts go sideways.

8
Vetted Firms
Draft + Litigate
Both Sides
Free
Initial Consult

When a Atlanta business needs a business contracts lawyer

Georgia is a common-law contract state with a few twists Atlanta business owners get caught by. Non-compete enforcement is governed by O.C.G.A. § 13-8-50 (the Georgia Restrictive Covenants Act), which sets specific limits on geographic scope, duration, and the activities restricted. Indemnification clauses involving construction work hit O.C.G.A. § 13-8-2(b)'s anti-indemnity rules. Liquidated damages have to be a reasonable forecast of actual damages, not a penalty. Choice-of-law and forum-selection clauses are usually enforceable but can be challenged on public-policy grounds. A good Atlanta contracts lawyer flags these traps before you sign, not after.

Who typically hires an Atlanta contracts lawyer

A founder negotiating a SaaS reseller agreement. An e-commerce company papering supplier MSAs. A logistics business drafting carrier contracts. An employer rolling out non-competes and confidentiality agreements for new hires. A buyer or seller in an asset purchase or stock-purchase deal. A startup signing its first commercial customer. A franchisor renewing its FDD. A film, music, or video-game studio negotiating talent and licensing deals — Atlanta's entertainment sector keeps several firms busy with these.

Drafting vs. dispute work

The firms below split roughly into three buckets. Boutiques like Krevolin & Horst and MacGregor Lyon handle the bulk of Atlanta startup and middle-market contract drafting at flat or capped fees. Mid-market firms like Smith, Gambrell & Russell and Morris, Manning & Martin pair contracts with M&A and corporate work. BigLaw firms (Alston & Bird, King & Spalding) handle the largest commercial deals — typically $25M+ — and the most complex licensing and technology agreements. Contract litigation is its own discipline; if a dispute lands in your inbox, ask whether the firm has trial-ready commercial litigators on the bench.

Firms in Atlanta that handle business contracts

1

Krevolin & Horst, LLC

📍 Atlanta, GAFounded 1995Mid-sized boutique

Practice focus: Contracts, commercial litigation, real estate, employment. Long-standing Atlanta firm with strong commercial contracts and litigation practices. Frequently engaged for middle-market drafting and disputes.

Hourly $375–$650Draft + dispute
2

Thrift McLemore

📍 Atlanta, GAFounded 1997Mid-sized firm

Practice focus: Commercial contracts, business litigation, real estate, healthcare. Atlanta firm serving healthcare, real-estate, and middle-market businesses. Strong contracts and dispute resolution bench.

Hourly $325–$600Healthcare + commercial
3

MacGregor Lyon, LLC

📍 Atlanta, GAFounded 2007Boutique firm

Practice focus: Business contracts, transactions, dispute resolution. Atlanta boutique focused on emerging and middle-market companies. Common pick for SaaS, technology, and services-contract drafting.

Flat / hourlyStartups + SaaS
4

Hecht Walker Jordan, P.C.

📍 Atlanta, GAFounded 2003Boutique trial firm

Practice focus: Business contracts, commercial litigation, construction disputes. Litigation-focused Atlanta firm that also handles contract drafting and review with eye toward enforceability and dispute risk.

Hourly $400–$700Litigation-tested drafting
5

Smith, Gambrell & Russell

📍 Atlanta, GAFounded 1893Mid-sized full-service

Practice focus: Corporate, M&A, contracts, IP, real estate, litigation. One of Atlanta's oldest firms with a deep contracts and corporate practice. Common pick for middle-market M&A and commercial agreements.

Hourly $475–$850Full-service corporate
6

King & Spalding (Contracts Group)

📍 Atlanta, GAFounded 1885BigLaw

Practice focus: Complex commercial contracts, licensing, technology transactions, M&A. Atlanta-headquartered BigLaw firm handling the largest commercial transactions in the Southeast. Strong tech-licensing and outsourcing practice.

Hourly $850–$1,400BigLaw deal work
7

Alston & Bird

📍 Atlanta, GAFounded 1893BigLaw

Practice focus: Corporate, contracts, technology, M&A, IP. Atlanta-based AmLaw 100 firm. Frequently retained for technology, healthcare, financial-services, and aviation contracts of national scale.

Hourly $900–$1,500Technology + national deals
8

Morris, Manning & Martin

📍 Atlanta, GAFounded 1976Mid-sized national

Practice focus: Corporate, contracts, M&A, real estate, technology. Atlanta-headquartered firm with strong technology, REIT, and middle-market deal practices. Frequent counsel on SaaS and licensing agreements.

Hourly $475–$900Tech + corporate

What this typically costs in Atlanta

Ranges from real Atlanta firms, current to 2026. Government fees billed separately and pass through at cost.

NDA / mutual confidentiality
$300 – $900

Flat fee for a standard mutual NDA. Most Atlanta firms keep templates and adapt in 1–2 hours.

Master Services Agreement (MSA)
$2,500 – $7,500

Custom MSA drafted from scratch with SOW template. More if there are heavy licensing or IP-ownership provisions.

Software / SaaS license agreement
$3,500 – $10,000

Custom SaaS license, including data-privacy schedule (CCPA/GDPR), SLAs, indemnities. Higher for enterprise.

Asset Purchase Agreement / SPA review
$8,000 – $35,000

Buy-side or sell-side review for a $1M–$25M transaction. Pricing scales with deal size and complexity.

Non-compete / restrictive covenant
$750 – $2,500

Drafting a Georgia-compliant non-compete and confidentiality agreement under O.C.G.A. § 13-8-50.

Commercial lease review
$1,200 – $4,500

Atlanta commercial-lease review including TI allowance, CAM, holdover, and assignment provisions.

Hourly drafting / negotiation
$325 – $850/hr

Hourly range across Atlanta boutiques and mid-market firms. BigLaw runs higher.

Contract dispute (litigation)
$25,000 – $250,000+

Range from a quick declaratory-judgment action to a full breach-of-contract trial. Most resolve at mediation or summary judgment.

Typical turnaround in Atlanta

From the day you sign an engagement letter to the day you have something in hand, here is what the calendar usually looks like in Atlanta.

  1. Day 1–3Conflict check, engagement letter, intake call. NDA executed.
  2. Days 3–10First draft delivered. Internal review and markup by you.
  3. Days 7–21Negotiation rounds with counterparty. Typical 2–4 redline cycles.
  4. Days 14–30Signature-ready version. Closing checklist if it's a deal.
  5. OngoingRenewal calendaring and post-signature management. Most Atlanta firms offer a quarterly contracts-review subscription.
  6. Disputes (if any)Demand letter within 1–2 weeks. Mediation 3–6 months. Litigation 12–24 months to trial.

Talk to a Atlanta business contracts lawyer — free.

Tell us what's going on. We route a confidential request to the best-fit Atlanta firm in our directory. No high-pressure sales calls.

Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Business Contracts in Atlanta — FAQ

How much does it cost to have a contract drafted in Atlanta?
A standard mutual NDA runs $300–$900. An MSA $2,500–$7,500. A SaaS license $3,500–$10,000. Custom commercial agreements with negotiation rounds vary widely. Most Atlanta boutiques will quote a flat fee after a 30-minute scoping call.
Are non-competes enforceable in Georgia?
Yes, but only under specific conditions set by the Georgia Restrictive Covenants Act (O.C.G.A. § 13-8-50). The agreement must be reasonable in geographic scope, duration, and activity restricted. Courts can also 'blue-pencil' overly broad provisions. Have any non-compete drafted or reviewed by a Georgia lawyer before relying on it.
Should I use a template I found online?
Templates are fine for low-stakes informal agreements. For anything that creates real obligations — service delivery, IP ownership, indemnity, payment terms — get a Georgia lawyer to review or draft. The cost of fixing a bad contract in litigation is 10–100x the cost of getting it right up front.
Who pays attorney fees if a contract dispute goes to court?
Default Georgia rule: each side pays its own fees. But a fee-shifting clause in the contract or O.C.G.A. § 13-6-11 (for bad-faith conduct) can change that. Most well-drafted commercial agreements include a prevailing-party fees clause.
Can I sign a contract electronically in Georgia?
Yes. Georgia adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA, O.C.G.A. § 10-12-1), and federal E-SIGN applies. Electronic signatures and DocuSign-style platforms are enforceable for nearly all business contracts, with narrow exceptions (wills, certain trusts).
What's the statute of limitations on a breach of contract claim in Georgia?
Six years for a written contract (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-24). Four years for an oral contract. Six years for a contract for the sale of goods under UCC Article 2. The clock starts at breach, not at discovery.
What if my counterparty refuses to negotiate?
Common in adhesion-style vendor or platform contracts. Your lawyer can flag the risky provisions and price them — sometimes the answer is to insure around the exposure, or walk. For high-value deals, almost everything is negotiable if you're patient and willing to push.

Related guides on LawFirmSquare