Regulatory and government law attorneys for businesses, professionals, and public bodies in North Georgia
Some of the most consequential decisions a business faces are not made by courts. They are made by a licensing board, a state agency, a city council, or a board of commissioners. Miles Hansford's Regulatory & Government Law practice represents clients on both sides of that table: the businesses and professionals who need a license, a permit, a favorable ruling, or a defense, and the local governments and authorities that make those decisions.
The practice, led by partner David B. Davidson, brings together three related disciplines: alcohol licensing for the hospitality and beverage industry, regulatory law before Georgia's state agencies and professional boards, and government representation for cities, counties, authorities, and the private clients who deal with them. The firm serves Alpharetta, Forsyth County, and the full North Metro Atlanta region from its office on Windward Concourse.
When to call a regulatory and government law attorney
- You are opening a restaurant, bar, store, brewery, or venue that will sell alcohol
- A state agency, licensing board, or the Department of Revenue has opened an investigation or issued a notice
- You need a permit, license, approval, or contract from a city or county
- A denial, suspension, revocation, or assessment has to be appealed on a short deadline
- Your city, county, authority, or board needs counsel for ordinances, meetings, contracts, or litigation
- You are challenging or defending a government action in superior court
Alcohol Licensing
Local and state alcohol licenses for restaurants, bars, package stores, hotels, venues, caterers, breweries, and distilleries. Applications, hearings, transfers, renewals, compliance defense, and appeals across North Metro Atlanta. Alcohol licensing services.
Regulatory Law
Representation before Georgia state agencies and professional licensing boards: investigations, contested cases at the Office of State Administrative Hearings, Department of Revenue protests, environmental and healthcare permitting, and judicial review. Regulatory law services.
Government Representation
Counsel to cities, counties, development authorities, and boards, and representation of private clients before them: ordinances, open meetings and records, procurement, immunity and ante litem claims, code enforcement, and litigation. Government representation services.
Administrative decisions follow their own rules, deadlines, and records
Regulatory and government matters are decided under statutes and ordinances that most business owners never see until something goes wrong: the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act, O.C.G.A. Title 3 for alcohol, the Zoning Procedures Law, the Open Meetings and Open Records Acts, the sovereign immunity and ante litem statutes, and hundreds of local ordinances. Each has its own notice requirements, hearing rights, evidentiary rules, and appeal windows. Many of those windows are 30 days or less, and missing one usually ends the matter.
The practice is built around that reality. We front-load the work: confirming what the rule actually requires, assembling a complete application or response, and building the evidentiary record at the first hearing, because in most of these cases the record made before the board or agency is the only record a court will ever review. When litigation is necessary, our attorneys handle petitions for review, declaratory judgment actions, and APA appeals in superior court.
- Applications, permits, and licenses prepared to survive scrutiny the first time
- Investigations, audits, show-cause notices, and enforcement actions
- Contested-case hearings before local boards, councils, commissions, and OSAH
- Consent orders, penalty negotiation, and compliance programs
- Petitions for review, declaratory judgment actions, and APA appeals
- Ordinance drafting, meeting procedure, and general counsel work for public bodies
Clients on every side of the regulatory process
The same attorneys who advise public bodies on how to make defensible decisions represent private clients who need those decisions to go their way. That dual perspective is the practice's advantage.
New alcohol licenses, expansions, ownership changes, Sunday and brunch authorizations, server permits, and defense of compliance-check violations.
Beer, wine, and spirits package licenses, distance surveys, relocations, and license issues arising from a sale of the business.
Manufacturer and brewpub licensing, direct-sale limits, taproom approvals, and the zoning and food-service permits that come with a production facility.
Physicians, nurses, contractors, real estate licensees, accountants, and other professionals facing a board complaint, investigation, or disciplinary hearing.
Companies dealing with the Department of Revenue, the Environmental Protection Division, the Department of Community Health, the Public Service Commission, and other state regulators.
General counsel and special counsel services for municipalities, county governments, development authorities, downtown development authorities, and boards.
Permits, procurement and bid protests, intergovernmental and development agreements, incentive structures, and disputes with local governments.
Code enforcement defense, ante litem claims against cities and counties, open records requests, and challenges to local government actions.
Three practices, one set of skills
Each practice area has its own page with detailed guidance, timelines, and FAQs. This is how they fit together.
Alcohol licensing
Every Georgia retailer needs a local license from its city or county and a state license from the Department of Revenue, and the local approval has to come first. Local ordinances decide license classes, distance rules, hearings, and renewals, and they differ between Alpharetta, Forsyth County, Cherokee County, Gwinnett County, and every other North Metro jurisdiction. The firm handles new applications, transfers on a sale of the business, renewals, brewery and distillery licensing, special-event permits, show-cause hearings after a compliance check, and appeals. See Alcohol Licensing and the county and city pages linked from it.
Regulatory law
When a state agency or licensing board acts, the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act governs the response: an investigation letter, a proposed sanction, a contested-case hearing at the Office of State Administrative Hearings, and judicial review in superior court within 30 days of the final decision. The firm represents licensed professionals before the Secretary of State's boards and the Composite Medical Board, businesses in Department of Revenue audits and Tax Court appeals, and permit holders and objectors in Environmental Protection Division and Certificate of Need matters. See Regulatory Law.
Government representation
Cities, counties, and authorities need counsel who understands charters, ordinances, the Open Meetings and Open Records Acts, procurement rules, SPLOST and tax allocation districts, annexation, immunity, and the litigation that follows a bad decision. The same knowledge serves private clients who must obtain something from a government or defend against one: permits, contracts, bid protests, code enforcement citations, and ante litem claims. See Government Representation.
Where land use fits
Rezonings, variances, use permits, and development approvals are government decisions too, and they share the same procedural DNA: notice, hearing, record, and a 30-day appeal window under the Zoning Procedures Law. The firm's Land Use & Zoning and Rezoning practices are staffed by the same team and are often engaged alongside an alcohol license or a government contract.
A regulatory practice inside a full-service North Georgia firm
Regulatory problems rarely arrive alone. A license application depends on a lease and an entity. A board investigation may involve an employment issue. A dispute with a county may end in litigation. Miles Hansford handles business and corporate law, civil litigation, land use, criminal defense, and estate matters alongside this practice, so the whole problem is addressed by one firm.
The practice is led by partner David B. Davidson and includes attorneys who have represented public bodies as well as the businesses that appear before them. Knowing how a licensing officer, city attorney, or agency hearing officer will read a file is often the difference between an approval and a denial.
North Metro Atlanta, county by county
The firm works regularly before the licensing authorities, planning bodies, and governing boards of the region's fastest-growing counties and cities.
Fulton & Forsyth
Alpharetta, Milton, Roswell, Johns Creek, Sandy Springs, Cumming, and unincorporated Forsyth County.
Cherokee, Cobb & Gwinnett
Canton, Woodstock, and the county governments of Cherokee, Cobb, and Gwinnett.
Hall & beyond
Gainesville, Hall County, Dawson County, and the GA-400 and I-985 corridors.
How a regulatory or government matter begins
Whether you are applying, responding, or governing, the first steps are the same.
Identify the rule and the clock
We confirm which statute, ordinance, or regulation controls and calendar every deadline, starting with the shortest.
Build the file
Applications, responses, and hearing exhibits are assembled to be complete and persuasive, because the record made now is the record on appeal.
Appear and advocate
We represent you before the board, council, commission, hearing officer, or administrative law judge.
Enforce or appeal
If the decision is wrong, we file the petition for review, declaratory action, or APA appeal within the deadline and litigate it in superior court.
Regulatory and government law FAQs
What is regulatory law?
Regulatory law covers the rules that government agencies and boards apply to businesses and professionals, and the procedures for licensing, permitting, investigations, enforcement, hearings, and appeals. In Georgia, the Administrative Procedure Act governs most state agency matters, while local ordinances govern city and county licensing and zoning decisions.
What does government representation mean for a law firm?
It means serving as counsel to a city, county, authority, or board, handling ordinances, meetings, contracts, employment, procurement, and litigation, and also representing private clients who need permits, contracts, or decisions from a government, or who must defend against a government action such as a citation or assessment.
Does the firm handle alcohol licensing for restaurants and bars?
Yes. Alcohol licensing is a core part of the practice. The firm handles new local and state license applications, hearings, ownership changes, renewals, brewery and distillery licensing, special-event permits, compliance-check violations, show-cause hearings, and appeals throughout North Metro Atlanta, with dedicated pages for each county and city.
How long do I have to appeal a Georgia agency or local government decision?
Usually 30 days. Judicial review of a state agency's final decision under the Administrative Procedure Act must be sought within 30 days, zoning decisions must be challenged within 30 days under O.C.G.A. § 36-66-5.1, and local licensing decisions are reviewed by petition for review, generally within 30 days. Some administrative deadlines are shorter, so contact counsel immediately.
Can the same firm represent a city and also businesses that appear before cities?
Yes, subject to conflict-of-interest rules. A firm cannot represent a client against a government it currently serves as counsel, and it screens every new matter for conflicts. Representing public bodies and private clients in different jurisdictions is common and gives the firm a practical understanding of how decisions are actually made.
Do I need a lawyer for an administrative hearing?
Administrative hearings are less formal than trials but follow rules of evidence and procedure, and the record made at the hearing is typically the only record a reviewing court will consider. An attorney who knows the agency, the standards, and the appeal process can shape that record and negotiate outcomes that are not available once a decision is final.
Which North Georgia jurisdictions does the practice serve?
The firm regularly handles matters in Alpharetta, Milton, Roswell, Johns Creek, Sandy Springs, and Fulton County; Cumming and Forsyth County; Canton, Woodstock, and Cherokee County; Gwinnett County; Cobb County; and Gainesville and Hall County, and before Georgia state agencies and the Office of State Administrative Hearings in Atlanta.
Explore the Regulatory & Government Law practice
Each area has its own detailed page with process, deadlines, and FAQs.
Talk with a regulatory and government law attorney in Alpharetta
If you are applying, responding to a notice, or advising a public body, Miles Hansford can tell you what the rule requires, what the deadline is, and how to get the outcome you need.
Miles Hansford Law Firm
Phone: 770-781-4100
Address:
1725 Windward Concourse, Suite 150
Alpharetta, GA 30005
Consultations: Contact the firm online to get started.
This page is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Fees, deadlines, and ordinance provisions change; confirm current requirements with the relevant jurisdiction or with the firm. No attorney-client relationship is created by viewing this content or sending a message through the website.