Bernie Lawrence-Watkins
Production Attorney
Bernie Lawrence-Watkins is a seasoned principal attorney at the law firm of B. Lawrence Watkins & Associates, PC, concentrating in the areas of Entertainment, Technology, Licensing, Copyright, Trademark, Business Transactions, and Corporate Formations. Her clients include Grammy® Award winning music producers, artists and songwriters, some of who have sold over 10 million units in sales. She also represents major label record executives, Deejays, independent record labels, managers, music and film/television production companies, screenplay writers, and clothing designers. Ms. Lawrence-Watkins has over twenty years of experience in drafting and negotiating complex agreements ranging from licensing, employment, corporate transactions, to product endorsement and influencer deals on behalf of entertainment and corporate brands. Ms. Lawrence-Watkins’ sharp negotiating skills have earned her clients over millions of dollars in revenue. She periodically appears as a guest lecturer and panelist at colleges, law schools and conferences nationally and internationally.
Ms. Lawrence-Watkins began her legal career as a paralegal in 1996 at the law firm of Kilpatrick Townsend and Stockton LLP formerly known as Kilpatrick Stockton, LLP, and later worked as a contract attorney in the litigation department. In 1999, she left the large firm environment to work for the City of Atlanta as the Legal Specialist in the Office of Contract Compliance, while maintaining her legal practice on the side. In late 2002, Ms. Lawrence-Watkins left the City of Atlanta to operate her law firm full time. She served as a federal lobbyist for a period of 8 years representing the City of Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, as she built a niche law practice representing platinum-selling music producers and songwriters.
Moreover, Ms. Lawrence-Watkins is a community activist. In addition to being co-founder of several community based organizations, in 2007 she co-founded Gather For Good, an annual networking and fundraising event seeking to raise funds for local nonprofit organizations. From 2009 to 2013, she served as a volunteer lecturer for Literacy Action, a United Way Organization, and taught grooming and interviewing techniques to adults seeking to re-enter the workforce. In 2012, she became a STEM community partner/volunteer to TAG-Ed. In 2015, her firm partnered with the Atlanta John Marshall Law School, and in 2019 partnered with Georgia State University College of Law and currently provides externship opportunities to law students seeking to learn the practice of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law.
In 2007, Ms. Lawrence-Watkins received the Metro Atlanta Community Champion Award from MADD and was honored by Rolling Out Magazine as one of Atlanta’s 25 Most Influential Women. In 2009, the Supreme Court of Georgia appointed her as a Mentor in the Transition into Law Practice Program to assist newly admitted lawyers to the State Bar of Georgia, and she currently participates as a mentor. During that same year, she also received The Token of Appreciation Award from Music in the Metro, a non-profit organization located in Des Moines, Iowa for bringing youth and the music industry together. In 2012, she was presented the Entertainment Lawyer of the Year Award by Women of Wealth Magazine and was honored by ASCAP as one of The Women Behind the Music. In 2014, Ms. Lawrence-Watkins received the Chairman’s Award from the Entertainment, Sports & Art Law Section of the National Bar Association. In 2015, she was honored with an Icon Award by Writing Sessions America – Atlanta, and Rolling Out Magazine honored her as one of the Top 25 Women of Atlanta for the second time. In 2017, she was featured in Attorney at Law Magazine as one of the attorneys to watch. In 2018, She received the Rising In Community Excellence (R.I.C.E.) Award. In 2019, Ms. Lawrence-Watkins was honored by Women of Wealth Magazine with the Women In Music and Entertainment Award and received the inaugural Justice for All Award in Entertainment Law by Rolling Out Magazine. Throughout the years 2006 through 2018, Ms. Lawrence-Watkins has appeared in Who’s Who in Black Atlanta.
Ms. Lawrence-Watkins’ past Board affiliations include the United Way-African American Partnership, Smyrna Basketball Association, Inc., The Atlanta Chapter of Jack and Jill, and the Black Entertainment Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA) (2010 through 2017). During the years 2007 to 2011, Ms. Lawrence-Watkins also served as a local advisory board member to Branch, Banking and Trust (BB&T). She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Georgia Music Partners (GMP), the Center Helping Obesity In Children End Successfully (C.H.O.I.C.E.S.), and Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA). Throughout the years, she has served as a member of various organizations, including, but not limited to Atlanta Business League, the National Association of Recording Arts & Sciences, Women in Film and Television Atlanta (WIFTA), the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, Pi Alpha Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., American Bar Association, National Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association.
Ms. Lawrence-Watkins received her Degree of Bachelors of Business Administration in Marketing from Howard University and Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law. She is admitted to practice law in Georgia in all lower courts, State and Superior Courts, the United Stated District Court of the Northern District of Georgia, Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Georgia. Ms. Lawrence-Watkins is the mother of two sons, one in college and the other in high school.