Commercial Lease Attorney: When You Need One and What to Check First

A commercial lease attorney reviews your lease, explains how it works under your state's law, and negotiates changes with the landlord's side. Many small businesses need one, but you get far more from their time when you already know which clauses carry the risk. AxiomRisk quotes the risky sentences from your lease, explains why each one matters, and suggests what to ask for, so you can decide whether to hire an attorney and what to hand them.

When you need a commercial lease attorney

Bring in an attorney when any of these apply:

• You are asked to sign a personal guarantee, especially one with no cap or time limit
• The rent, the term or your fit-out spend is large compared with your business
• The lease runs five years or more, or covers several locations
• The landlord will only negotiate through their own attorney
• The lease has unusual terms, such as relocation rights, radius restrictions or co-tenancy clauses
• You still do not understand a clause after reading it twice

What we check

A contract check is a fast first pass on the clauses that most often cost tenants money:

• Rent increases and rent reviews, and how they compound over the term
• Operating expenses or CAM charges, and whether there is a cap or an audit right
• The personal guarantee: who signs, for how much, and for how long
• Assignment and subletting, which decide whether you can sell or move the business
• Renewal, termination and any automatic extension, with the notice you must give
• Repair, maintenance and restoration duties at the end of the lease
• The use clause, signage and exclusivity

Each finding quotes the exact sentence from your lease, gives a severity, explains why it matters and suggests a change to ask for. You can see what that looks like in a sample report, or read more about commercial lease review.

How it works

1. Upload your lease as a PDF or Word file.
2. See the risky sentences quoted from your file, with why each one matters and what to ask the landlord.
3. Take those asks to the landlord, or to your attorney with the quoted findings attached.

What you get

• The risky sentences from your lease, quoted word for word
• A plain-English reason each one matters to your business
• Specific changes to ask the landlord for
• A short reply email with proposed wording for each clause, ready to edit and send

AxiomRisk or a lawyer?

AxiomRisk is not a law firm and does not give legal advice, and it does not replace a commercial lease attorney. An attorney advises on your facts and your state's law, negotiates for you and stands behind that advice. Use a contract check to understand the lease and find the risky clauses, then bring in an attorney for the decisions that matter. Send them the original lease, the quoted findings and your list of asks, and ask for a fixed fee for a defined scope, such as the guarantee, rent and exit clauses. More on choosing between the two: AxiomRisk vs a lawyer.

Pricing

You can check a lease on the free plan, and AxiomRisk pricing shows what the paid plans add.

Next step

Check your contract free before your first call with an attorney, so you walk in knowing which clauses matter.