A Lawyer for Franchisors and Franchisees
Franchise matters have significant legal ramifications for which it is important to obtain experienced legal advice. Four examples are:
If you are planning to franchise your business, then you have to formulate an overall strategy and implement it from both a business and legal standpoint.
For example, if the name under which your business would be franchised does not have a U.S. trademark registration, then obtaining such a registration, if possible, would be advisable.
And, you must provide any prospective franchisee a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) which is actually a compilation of a number of documents such as a mandatory set of disclosures and the franchise agreement.
Then you have to obey stringent marketing rules and also obey state laws in roughly half the states in the U.S.
You will need a custom drafted franchise agreement that organizes and enforces the anticipated relationship with your franchisees. You may need other side agreements as well.
You will need to devise a training program for new franchisees and an Operating Manual that contains the detailed specifications of how the franchise works.
You will need a plan to market your franchise to prospective franchisees. A franchise-oriented website will be an integral part of this plan.
I have the experience necessary to provide you quality legal services for your franchise start-up and help guide you in the business, training, and other aspects of the new franchise system.
My new franchise package includes many hours of discussion with you to formulate the optimal strategy for a successful franchise system, and drafting and revising the franchise agreement and FDD along the way. The complete package is done for a low flat fee of $9600.
I will be pleased to talk with you about your anticipated franchise system at no cost or obligation. Just give me a call or send me an email from this site.
You may read more details about these services here.
If you are purchasing a franchise from a franchisor, the franchisor will provide you a lengthy set of documents known as a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) that requires significant legal experience to adequately review.
I can provide you a franchise purchase review of your proposed franchise agreement and also the entire FDD at a low flat rate. This is a comprehensive review to which I devote 5 to 6 hours of time for a flat fee of only $825. I add a valuable phone conference of up to 2 hours for an additional fee of only $150 per hour. You may read more details about this process here.
Also you may wish assistance on forming a business entity, negotiating a premises lease, and other matters related to opening and running a business.
I have extensive experience and can help you on all these aspects of purchasing your new franchise. For a no charge or obligation preliminary phone conference just give me a call or send me an email from this site.
If you are purchasing or selling an existing franchised business, you have to consider the terms of the written purchase and sale agreement for the assets or stock of the franchised business, and perhaps a letter of intent preceding that agreement.
In addition, the consent of the franchisor and any landlord will have to be obtained.
There will be other legal matters related to any purchase and sale of a going business.
All pertinent agreements must be in writing. An attorney can only represent one side of the transaction. Reasonable business prudence dictates having an attorney represent you on the legal aspects of the transaction.
The core of the transaction is the purchase and sale agreement and exhibits. Although purchase and sale agreements follow a pattern, the details must be highly customized to work properly.
I have worked on many franchise buy-sells and can give you the necessary advice as well as draft the needed documentation. Typically I provide services on an hourly basis as this generally leads to the lowest fee. Generally, my fees are in the $2600 to $3900 range for all services in the transaction.
You may read more details about this process here.
If you would like a preliminary phone conference with me on a franchise buy-sell, please email me through this site or give me a call. There is no cost or obligation.
If you are having disputes in a franchise context, then your position in the dispute must be evaluated and acted upon in terms of applicable laws and document interpretation. This applies whether you are the franchisor or franchisee in the dispute.
Given the high costs of both litigation and arbitration, it is also often advisable to attempt to resolve the dispute without recourse to a formal litigation or arbitration tribunal.
Courts consider most business disputes to be matters that the parties should ultimately settle. So even if you do embark on litigation or arbitration, you will usually be required to participate in settlement conference designed to resolve the matter. Often you will end up with a resolution that you and the other party could have resolved without ever incurring the inevitably high legal costs of litigation or arbitration. Therefore it pays both sides to take a businesslike approach to these disputes and endeavor to settle them whenever possible.
I have successfully assisted many franchisors and franchisees in franchise dispute settlement and can help you, too. (I can only represent one side of the dispute). Believe it or not, the usual cost of my legal services in such matters is only $1300 to $2600.
If you are in or anticipate such a conflict, I suggest either calling me or emailing me through this site to arrange no-charge or obligation preliminary discussion.
These matters cannot reasonably be undertaken without skilled legal advice from an experienced franchise lawyer.
Denver Colorado Franchise Attorney Martin A. Mansfield
