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The Law Department
For your Business

Our Attorneys are laser-focused on providing efficient and effective solutions for all business legal needs.  

360 Legal Solutions

Attorneys Delivering Business Legal Solutions

Practice Areas

Business & Commercial Support

We help businesses buy and sell, employ talent, and resolve disputes. From formation to acquisition, we have your back.

Legal Support for Franchisors

We help entrepreneurs develop, grow, and expand their business at an acellerated pace through the franchise model.

Legal Support for Franchisees

We help entrepreneurs evaluate franchise opportunities by through review, consultation, and negotiation.

Dispute Resolution & Civil Litigation

We work with clients to help manage relationships with employees, customers, and partners. You can count on us to fight for your business.

Result Driven

Our Approach

The attorneys at Waldrop & Colvin listen carefully, think critically, and communicate effectively to provide business legal solutions. To us, listening carefully means more than understanding our client’s business needs and the specific questions they need answered. We listen carefully to proactively offer advice to protect their business. Likewise, thinking critically means more than offering a generally accepted legal solution. We analyze the legal issues looking for practical and creative solutions with your business need and abilities in mind. Lastly, we believe there is substantial value in ongoing and open communication between business leads and business minded attorneys. We are directly accessible and don’t speak in legalese. We meet in person, call, video-chat, text or email depending on the situation and our clients support needs. 

The bottom line is, we work with our clients every step of the way to make sure that they understand the choices they are making and feel empowered to make them. 

Learn All About Our Attorneys

Meet The Partners

Our attorneys have a proven history of success in advising management through challenges and opportunities by delivering world class legal advice. John Allen has represented companies from start-up stages to earning billions in revenue and he focuses on providing support in business transactions of all kinds. Derek has litigated thousands of cases and focuses on litigation and supporting franchisors and franchisees. John Allen and Derek formed the law firm to provide reliable support to businesses. They are committed to working hard to put their experience to work for you. 

John Allen Waldrop, III

Partner

Derek A. Colvin

Partner

three steps to success

We Will Help You Every Step Of The Way

We are the law department for your business. 

01

learn about your Business & legal issues

We listen carefully to learn about your business systems, processes, and objectives, along with your specific legal needs, so we can provide solutions tailored to your business. 

02

Find the Best Path Forward

We provide you with the information you need to make informed decisions and we work together to develop a plan. 

03

Deliver Results

We execute on the plan we develop together and deliver the legal solutions your business needs.  

What People Say About Us

Client Testimonials

"I trust John Allen Waldrop and Derek Colvin to provide legal guidance and manage litigation as Outside General Counsel. They both have immense legal talent, but they approach problems differently. John Allen’s knowledge and experience are well complemented by Derek’s quick-thinking and attentiveness to finding solutions. Together, they provide me with prompt, well-reasoned, and reliable legal guidance so that I can manage risk and grow my next 500M business."
John T. HewittLoyalty Brands, Founder and CEO; Founder and Former CEO of Jackson Hewitt and Liberty Tax
"I have known John Allen professionally since 2016. At that time, John Allen was serving the legal team of a well-respected national wholesale company. I was impressed with his wealth of knowledge of business and international trade. I found his contracts to be thorough but straightforward and most notably, fair. I was pleased to have the opportunity to work directly with John Allen when he began working privately. His counsel has been integral to the growth of my business. We have retained John Allen's services since the summer of 2020. His guidance has streamlined our onboarding process with new customers and his contracts have significantly improved our business. I highly recommend John Allen to those requiring experienced legal guidance with competence and integrity."
Kevin GrunkemeyerEntos Group COO
"John Allen and Derek are amazing! They are prompt, professional, friendly and patient and most of all they communicate in a timely manner. I have utilized them over the past year and would highly recommend. [If] I could give more stars I would."
Sandra StowZoomin Groomin CEO
We feel so blessed to have found Derek, he was absolutely amazing to work with on every level. He has everything that you would want and hope for in an Attorney Representing you. He is very experienced and it shows in the way that he guides and represents his clients. He knows how to read and handle situations very well and when to be aggressive when needed. Derek was extremely Responsive, Prompt, Patient and Efficient. He has a very high standard of Ethics and Integrity and he is extremely Honest and Trustworthy. We Truly Trust Him and we would highly recommend him to anyone.
Sarah ChiltonLitigation Client
"Attorneys John Allen Waldrop and Derek Colvin are franchise experts - no doubt about it. They did such an excellent job helping us with our franchise pursuit by reviewing the FDD & FA documents, identifying risk factors, and identifying those elements that were and were not in our favor. They also provided us justifications for proposed changes and made item-by-item comparisons after the franchisor amended the franchise agreement during the review process."
Phillip JacksonSmall Business Owner
"I received excellent service from Derek Colvin. Very responsive and provided me with valuable advice and negotiation tactics. HIGHLY RECOMMEND."
Howard SachsFranchisee Client
"We used Mr. Colvin's legal services to purchase a franchise. Mr. Colvin worked directly with the franchisor to provide the necessary documentation while looking after our best interests and keeping us informed of the progress. Mr Colvin is patient, knowledgeable and explains legal matters in an understandable way. We will continue using his services by providing legal counsel for our franchise. I would highly recommend Mr Colvin."
Beth A. M&A and Franchisee Client
"Derek is a true professional & business partner. His expertise has helped our company saved thousands of dollars each month, provide the expertise we need to protect both the brand and our franchisees."
Alberto Ortiz ATAX CEO
"Attorney Colvin has always been very responsive to our needs. He is extremely competent and if there is an issue he needs to research, he does so quickly and thoroughly. I will not hesitate to recommend him to any of my colleagues."
Jack S. CFO
"I hired Mr. Colvin to help with a few of my business needs. He has been flexible with meetings, offering to meet via phone, zoom, or in-person. He responds quickly to emails, texts, and on the rare occasion that he hasn't answered a call, he has returned calls quickly."
Larry D. Small Business Owner
"John and his team did a great job supporting me through all aspects of selling my business. He was very knowledgeable of the requirements and provided me excellent guidance and direction as he executed the creation of all document sets required for this complex transaction. John was very responsive and was always available when called upon. He exceeded my expectations throughout the entire process and his rates were very reasonable. John is now my go-to for any future legal services I need in which he is already working on another project for me. Awesome job John, thanks!"
Jeff S. M&A Client
"John and his partner Derek were very helpful in setting us on the right path to launch our small startup. They were very responsive, professional, and knowledgeable. We fully intend on continuing to work with John and Derek as we build out our company and grow the business. Highly recommend."
Gregory M.Start-up Client
"There is no one more dedicated to their clients needs than Mr. Colvin. His quick response to pressing issues were very comforting. Excellent communication, prompt, controls courtroom... leaves no room for error."
Jake L.
"John Allen is instrumental in providing counsel on my business. His attention to detail, thoroughness and professionalism is above and beyond any legal professional I have worked with in over 15 years. John Allen serves as our corporate counsel for our business. I highly recommend his legal work for both small, mid-size and large corporations. His skill set as general counsel, franchise law and overall legal knowledge is unsurpassed."
Saurabh AgarwalJomsom Staffing, CEO
"In the world of legalese, John Waldrop and company expertly explained and handled my lack of knowledge for a current contract I was obligated to perform. They gave me a fuller understanding of my rights and obligations per the contract and advised me on how to protect my interests. Recommend!"
Phil G. Small Business Owner
"John is an amazing attorney with practical style of thinking. He has completed our new business sales contract in about a week. We will use his service again. Thank You"
David C. Small Business Owner
"When I need legal advice quickly, I reach out to Derek & John Allen to provide me what I need to stay in compliance with my many business relationships! Derek & John Allen have been providing me with thorough and professional advice for several years. I don't worry about the small details because they have me covered! I highly recommend this dynamic duo for all your business needs; I will always call on these top-notch professionals!"
Mary Jane DeJaagerCEO of Ledgers
"The firm successfully negotiated a settlement on our behalf. We were very pleased with the outcome and the high level of communication. At all times we were heard and our input was considered. Overall, pleased with the outcome."
Robert S.Business Owner
"The team provided excellent legal representation and guided us through a very difficult time in our life. We are greatly appreciative for all the support and will not hesitate to refer their firm to others for their legal business needs."
Robert WagnerBusiness Owner

Who we Serve

We serve entrepreneurs at every stage of the journey.  Legal services support businesses from formation, through operations, and beyond acquisition. The scope of our legal assistance is up to you. We handle projects on a fixed fee basis or at an hourly rate.  We also offer ongoing support through a flat monthly rate. We are Virginia licensed attorneys with offices located in Virginia Beach, Virginia and Smithfield, Virginia, but our reach is global. As Virginia attorneys we help businesses buy and sell across the globe on a daily basis. We are available for worldwide consultation from Virginia through video conference. We are accessible to meet with clients in-person throughout the greater Hampton Roads area. In most cases, we can provide business and franchise legal services to clients regardless of where they are located. Our litigation practice is limited to Virginia, except in limited cases by permission of the court. You can decide if we are a good fit for your business legal needs during a free consultation. We’d love to be the law department for your business!

Why Choose Our Law Firm?

World Class Legal

We empower clients to make informed decisions by providing premier legal talent.

Accessible

We are accessible by text, call, e-mail, video-conference, or in person in Hampton Roads, Virginia. We make ourselves available for next-day appointments.

Responsive

We respond to our clients within hours, not days. We value open and honest communication. You can count on us to pickup when you call.

Reasonable Fee

We work with clients on an hourly rate, fixed fee, or monthly subscription rate. Our competitive price and specialized knowledge are tough to beat.

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Call An Attorney Directly

We focus on results and work hard to deliver solutions. Let us serve as the law department for your business. 

Practice Areas