Counsel for Savannah business owners, from the Coastal Georgia office on St. Simons Island.
Savannah is a port city and a visitor city at the same time. A lot of the businesses here live on contracts with hotels, restaurants, shops, warehouses, and the companies that move freight through the port. Others are older family companies that have operated in Chatham County for decades and are now deciding who owns what, who signs the lease, and what happens when a partner wants out.
The Scates Law Firm, LLC does not have an office in Savannah. Clients in Savannah and Chatham County work with the Coastal Georgia office on St. Simons Island. The same lawyer handles the matter from the first call through the paperwork.
Business disputes. The calls from Savannah are often about a contract that stopped matching the way the business actually runs. A vendor did not deliver. A customer will not pay. A commercial landlord and a tenant read the same lease two different ways. Partnership and shareholder fights show up when a family company adds an owner, or when one owner stops doing the work. The first job is to sort out which of those fights are worth having, and which ones can be closed with a letter or a renegotiated deal before anyone files suit.
Outside general counsel. Plenty of Savannah companies are past the point of calling a lawyer only when something breaks, and not ready to hire a lawyer full-time. A retainer gives you someone who already knows the vendors, the locations, and the people, for contract review, employment questions, governance, and the ordinary paperwork of a busy season. That is a better fit than starting over on every call.
LLCs and real estate. New ventures still need a clean starting point: the right entity, an operating agreement that says what happens if someone leaves, and a buy-sell agreement before anyone is angry. On the property side, the firm handles commercial closings, leases, and land use questions. Savannah property often comes with an extra layer, from historic-district rules downtown to ordinary title and zoning issues farther out in the county. The office reviews the documents and tells you what you are actually agreeing to.
Serving clients in Savannah. The office address is on St. Simons Island.
Submitting a consultation form or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
You do not have to come to the island for a first conversation. The first consultation is thirty minutes at no charge, and it can be a video call. After that you get a written summary and a clear recommendation, including a referral if the matter is not a fit. The firm responds to inquiries within two business days.
When a meeting needs to be in person, it is at the St. Simons Island office or at your place of business in Savannah. A contract review or a retainer question is usually fine on video. A closing, a lease negotiation, or a dispute with a stack of documents is easier with the papers on the table.
You work directly with Ryan Scates. The firm also has an Atlanta office for clients whose work reaches both ends of the state. See how an engagement works.
Schedule a consultation by video, at your place of business, or at the St. Simons Island office.
Schedule a ConsultationSubmitting a consultation form or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.