1100 Peachtree Street NE Suite 2800, Atlanta, GA USA 30309
2001 Ross Avenue Suite 4400, Dallas, TX USA 75201
Joel Cartee is a trusted business advisor and partner in Kilpatrick’s Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities practice, renowned for guiding Fortune 100 companies and market innovators through high-stakes, complex transactions that shape their industries. With more than two decades of experience, Joel delivers practical, business-focused counsel on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, private equity, venture capital, and commercial transactions. Clients rely on his deep deal acumen, ability to anticipate and address critical business issues, and his commitment to driving successful outcomes in transformative deals.
Joel’s approach is distinguished by his strategic insight into the operational needs and commercial priorities of large public companies, enabling clients to navigate business combinations with confidence and clarity. This level of understanding is the result of Joel’s long-term investment in getting to know each client’s unique business priorities and objectives. His track record includes hundreds of closed transactions, collectively representing tens of billions of dollars in deal value, and his reputation for excellence is underscored by numerous industry recognitions and his role as Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Georgia.
Joel’s practice centers on:
Mergers & Acquisitions and Business Combinations: Leading buy-side and sell-side transactions for Fortune 100 companies and high-growth enterprises, including cross-border deals, divestitures, carve-outs, and acquisition programs. Joel excels at structuring, negotiating, and closing transactions involving mission-critical assets and operations, ensuring seamless deal execution and post-transaction integration. Joel has managed acquisition programs for multiple Fortune 100 clients that have increased value and accomplished strategic objectives.
Joint Ventures, Strategic Alliances & Private Equity: Advising clients on the formation and governance of joint ventures and strategic alliances, enabling collaborative innovation and market expansion. Joel counsels clients on private equity investments, exits, and operational strategies to maximize value and mitigate risk.
Commercial Transactions & Strategic Counseling: Providing actionable guidance on complex commercial agreements and strategic transactions, with particular emphasis on technology, telecommunications, and distribution/supply chain industries. Joel helps clients navigate regulatory considerations, commercial risk allocation, and operational transition issues in high-profile deals.
Corporate Governance & Business Organizations: Advising clients on corporate governance, business structuring, and compliance for LLCs, partnerships, and corporations. Joel helps organizations align their governance frameworks with strategic objectives and evolving regulatory requirements.
In addition to his private sector work, Joel serves as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Georgia, representing the Office of the State Treasurer of Georgia on significant matters of public finance and governance.
Joel Cartee is recognized for his ability to translate legal complexity into business clarity, partnering with clients to structure and execute transactions that advance strategic goals, foster growth, and unlock long-term value. Whether guiding a Fortune 100 company through a transformative acquisition or divestiture or advising on the intricacies of joint ventures and governance, Joel is a go-to advisor for clients seeking sophisticated, practical, and business-minded legal solutions.
Joel was listed in the 2020 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and the seven years immediately preceding for Mergers & Acquisitions, in 2021 and 2022 for Mergers & Acquisitions Law and Communications Law, in 2023, 2024 and 2025 for Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Communications Law, Corporate Law, and Mergers & Acquisitions Law, and in 2026 for Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Communications Law, Corporate Law, Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), and Corporate Governance Law. He was also named a Law360 2018 MVP for Telecommunications Law and was recommended by Legal 500 US in 2019, 2020 and 2022 for Mergers & Acquisitions.
Experience
Represented Sysco Corporation in its acquisition of Ginsberg’s Foods, a wholesale broadline foodservice distributor based in New York.
Represented Sysco Corporation in its sale of Crown 1 Enterprises, a manufacturer of value-added proteins and ready-to-eat meals, to Mama’s Creations.
Represented AT&T in connection with its $23 billion acquisition of spectrum assets from EchoStar.
Represented AT&T in connection with the sale of its cybersecurity business to LevelBlue, a joint venture between AT&T and WillJam Investments.
Represented AT&T Inc. in connection with the sale of its wireline assets in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to UP Fiber, Inc.
Represented AT&T in connection with its $1.018 billion acquisition of spectrum assets from US Cellular.
Represented Sysco Corporation in its acquisition of BIX Produce Company, a leading produce specialty and fresh cut distributer based in Minnesota.
Represented AT&T in its sale of Xandr Inc., AT&T’s global programmatic advertising marketplace, to Microsoft.
Represented AT&T in its sale of AT&T Government Solutions, Inc., AT&T’s Department of Defense IT professional services business, to Tyto Athene, a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners.
Represented AT&T in its $1.95 billion sale of its wireless and wireline operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to Liberty Latin America.
Represented Equifax, a global analytics and technology company, in its acquisition of PayNet, a provider of commercial credit risk underwriting and management solutions for the commercial lending and leasing market.
Represented A3 Communications, a leading systems integrator, in connection with its sale to Cook & Boardman Group, a leading specialty distributor of commercial door entry solutions.
Represented AT&T Inc. in its acquisition of AppNexus, a technology company operating a leading global advertising marketplace that provides enterprise products for digital advertising for publishers, agencies and marketers.
Represented AT&T Inc. in the acquisition of AlienVault, an innovative technology and security company.
Represented Equifax Inc. in its acquisition of DataX, Ltd, a leading specialty finance credit reporting agency and alternative data provider to lenders nationwide.
Represented AT&T Inc. in its acquisition of FiberTower Corporation, a company with a nationwide portfolio of millimeter wave spectrum of 39 GHz wireless licenses.
Represented AT&T in connection with numerous closed or pending transactions involving the acquisition, exchange or divestiture of spectrum licenses and other telecommunications assets.
Represented WarnerMedia in the acquisition of assets of Canopy Crest Corporation, a privacy-focused recommendations startup.
Represented AT&T Inc. in its attempted acquisition of Straight Path Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: STRP), a publicly-traded communications company with a nationwide portfolio of millimeter wave spectrum, including 39 GHz and 28 GHz wireless licenses, for $1.6 billion.
Represented Equifax Inc. in the acquisition of the assets of two companies that collectively provide unemployment and employee tax planning and consulting services, unemployment claims administration and management services, and verification of income and employment services through a verification platform known as Verify Job Systems.
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University of Alabama School of Law J.D. (1998) magna cum laude, Order of the Coif
University of Alabama B.S. (1995) Commerce and Business Administration, summa cum laude
Georgia (1998)
Texas (2012)
State Bar of Georgia, Business Law Section, Member
State Bar of Texas, Business Law Section, Member
American Bar Association, Section of Business Law and Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, Member
Atlanta Bar Association, Member
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