Successful Negotiation of 4 Franchises for Client in Erie County, New York

Our client had never owned or operated a franchise before. They came to us for assistance with the negotiation and review of a letter of intent, and the negotiation of a franchise disclosure document (FDD) and franchise agreement (FA). This story is exceptionally special to the firm because it involves the founding partner, Andrea A. Willis, and her husband. Due to the firm’s quick and efficient representation, Andrea and her husband are now owners of four successful franchises.

Challenge:

To ensure our client was protected, we needed to create a legal structure that allowed for growth, protected personal assets, and allowed for cost-sharing without unnecessary exposure to liability.

1. To organize the corporate structure, we set up two distinct legal entities, for each co-branded geographic territory.

2. We negotiated the removal of the personal guaranty after the businesses had a proven track record of financial success, limiting the owner’s personal risk.

3. To ensure continued growth, we negotiated language that gives our client the flexibility to take on additional projects without compromising ownership of intellectual property and ideas.

Our work included:

• Formed New York State legal entities (LLCs and DBAs)
• Expert document review and negotiation
• Liaison between our client and the franchise owner (franchisor)
• Employed creative problem-solving to circumvent arguments against our position
• Navigated through pushback and redlines to achieve fair contracts for our client
• Structured our client for long-term success and growth

Our result:

We triumphed in delivering quick results to our client so they were up and running in under a month. The franchise negotiation process can be cumbersome, but we were prepared to jump in, ask the right questions, and lead a constructive conversation between all parties to achieve a winning outcome for our client.