Stephen L. Wright

Partner

Atlanta, Georgia

Stephen Wright is a member of Taylor English’s Corporate and Business, and Litigation and Dispute Resolution Departments. Mr. Wright has an extensive and successful track record in commercial litigation and arbitration, as well as in corporate and transactional matters. His recent experience includes:

• Serving as outside general counsel for the past 20 years to help grow a company from less than $15 million to more than $70 million in annual revenue and quadruple its employees to become the largest commercial trade contractor in the Southeast. Mr. Wright negotiated construction contracts; managed litigation in multiple states; handled insurance, warranty and surety issues; directed real estate acquisitions; registered and protected intellectual property; and developed and implemented human resources policies/procedures.

• Recently led a team of attorneys for a start-up venture through all phases of developing a $387 million food manufacturing campus. His work has included contracts for design-build construction, real estate acquisition with a public entity, and supply-chain agreements with major domestic and international customers and distributors.

• Avoiding $20 million in exposure for a client by vigorously defending seven complex construction and product liability matters, resulting in dismissals on summary judgment or minimal settlement payouts.

• Spearheading more than $700 million in industrial, manufacturing, commercial development and construction contracts in 2014-2017, including in the automotive industry, across the United States.

• Protecting international business interests by testifying before the Georgia General Assembly in opposition to a bill, which was defeated, that would have discouraged foreign businesses from investing in the state by barring the use of foreign law.

Mr. Wright graduated from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University with a BS and high honors in Business Economics, and received his JD from Boston University. After the completion of his law degree, Mr. Wright won a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship to study European Union law in Germany. Mr. Wright is a certified mediator and arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association. He is fluent in German.

Affiliations

  • American Arbitration Association, Construction and Commercial Panels, Mediation Panel, 2012-present
  • American Bar Association, Forum on the Construction Industry, Member, 1998-present
  • Associated General Contractors of America
  • Atlanta International Arbitration Society, Secretary and Director
  • German-American Chamber of Commerce
  • Japan-America Society of Georgia
  • New York State Bar Association, 1988-present
  • State Bar of Georgia, 1989-present
  • Technology Association of Georgia

Recognitions

  • The Best Lawyers in America®, 2021-2023
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated

Practice Areas

  • Arbitration & Mediation
  • Business Torts & Commercial Contract Disputes
  • Construction
  • Corporate & Business
  • Environmental & Toxic Torts
  • Insurance
  • Intellectual Property Litigation
  • Manufacturing

Education

  • Boston University, School of Law, JD, 1987
  • Europa Institute of Saarland University, Germany, Fulbright Fellowship, 1988
  • Indiana University, BS, Business Economics, with honors, 1984

Bar Admissions

  • Georgia
  • New York

Courts

  • American Arbitration Association, Construction and Commercial Arbitrations Panels, Mediation Panel
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

Languages

  • German