Craig Thrift

Craig Thrift has spent nearly 20 years helping business owners, investors, and entrepreneurs make smart, strategic decisions. He works with clients on everything from starting a company to selling one, and handles mergers, acquisitions, financings, franchising, leasing, real estate transactions, and day-to-day corporate matters.

Craig acts as a sounding board and trusted advisor for his clients. He brings a strong understanding of both the legal and business aspects of a deal, helping clients structure transactions in ways that protect them, minimize risk, and set them up for long-term success. He regularly drafts and negotiates operating agreements, shareholder agreements, employment and non-compete agreements, loan documents, settlement agreements, and other key business contracts.

Over the years, Craig has helped guide more than $900 million in transactions. He’s worked with public companies, private equity and venture capital funds, family offices, startups, and everything in between. His clients come from a range of industries, including real estate, hospitality, technology, manufacturing, and professional services.

Craig is among the best-reviewed real estate and business law attorneys in Georgia on Avvo.com. He has achieved an AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating, the highest rating awarded for legal ability and ethical standards, from Martindale-Hubbell. He has also received the Martindale-Hubbell Platinum Client Champion designation and the Avvo Clients’ Choice Award for the quantity and quality of client reviews.

He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia Business Law Section, Corporate Counsel Law Section, General Practice and Trial Law Section, Real Property Law Section, as well as the Franchise and Distribution Law Section. He is also a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Delta Phi.

Before co-founding Thrift McLemore, Craig practiced at top national firms, including McDermott Will & Emery, King & Spalding, and Jones Day. He also worked in-house for both public and private real estate companies.

He earned his law degree from Washington and Lee University and graduated from the University of South Carolina’s Honors College with a degree in Business Management.

• AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
• Platinum Client Champion Award, Martindale-Hubbell
• Clients’ Choice Award, Avvo
• Tucker Inn Academic Excellence Award, Phi Delta Phi
• Best Business Lawyers in Atlanta, Expertise
• Featured as a Hidden Gem in VoyageATL
• Rated Superb 10.0 out of 10.0, Avvo
• Rated 10.0 out of 10.0, Justia

• Georgia Commercial Debt Collection: Attorney or Agency? (2019)
• Defending a Mechanics Lien in Georgia (2019)
• Suing for Latent Defects in a Home Purchase in Georgia (2019)
• Avvo Legal Guides 10 Steps to Effective Estate Planning (2018)
• Avvo 9 Steps to an Effective Retirement (2018)
• RV Industry News Rolling Timeshare – Fractionalizing RVs (2012)
• The Viking Capture Legal Solution, Viking Advisory Group Newsletter (2011)