Your Trusted Virginia Franchise Attorney

Supporting Franchisees and Franchisors in Virginia and Nationwide

Searching for a franchise attorney?

Our attorneys are laser focused on delivering efficient and effective legal solutions. Regardless of whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or new to franchising, you’ve come to the right place. You can trust Waldrop & Colvin to understand your needs and provide the legal know-how and support you need to succeed in franchising.  

Strategic and Personalized Legal Support

As a franchise focused law firm, Waldrop & Colvin provide on-demand legal support to both franchise sellers (“franchisors”) and prospective franchise buyers (“franchisees”). Many franchise attorneys represent franchisors or franchisees – and many do a great job – but the caliber of legal services we provide are tough to beat because we deliver premier legal talent with the boutique law experience.  

Knowledgable

Franchising is heavily regulated by federal and state franchise specific laws. Regardless of who you engage for franchise legal support, its essential that the attorney you select has specialized knowledge in franchise law. Our attorneys have spent countless hours working with franchisors, franchisees, and state regulators. We provide knowledgable and practical support, with a focus on what matters most to you. 

Prompt and Accessible

Accessibility matters. Our attorneys commit to remaining accessible and providing prompt assistance. As a client, you will always have a direct line of communication to a franchise attorney by email, phone, and text message.  Big or small, every client gets the attention they deserve.  

Launch a franchise or purchase a franchised business with confidence

Franchise law is a niche area of the law with many nuanced rules and requirements. Understanding the business landscape is essential when it comes to dispensing helpful legal advice and crafting solutions that cultivate an environment where entrepreneurs can achieve long-term growth and objectives.  Leveraging knowledge is smart business and execution requires a partnership between business leads and business-minded attorneys. 

storefront with three bubbles to represent multi unit franchise offer

Our attorneys excel at providing business owners with the legal know-how they need to thrive in an ever-evolving business environment. Our lawyers handle the legal work so business leads can focus on driving growth.   

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Business-minded attorneys play a pivotal role in structuring deals, negotiating contracts, and providing guidance on risk management, thereby enabling business owners to seize opportunities and navigate challenges. Our attorneys deliver the legal guidance and support franchisors need to operate in Virginia and across the United States and deliver the know-how franchisees need to evaluate franchise opportunities and launch their business.

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Franchisor Tailored Legal Support

Franchising a business requires a strong ongoing working relationship between business leads and an experienced franchise attorney. From launch to maturity, a skilled franchise attorney is vital to building a strong and legally sound franchise system. This is true regardless of whether you are a seasoned franchisor with many franchise locations or an emerging brand looking to expand through franchising. Franchising is heavily regulated and requires ongoing legal updates and support services.  

The primary role of a franchisor attorney is to provide comprehensive support in crafting franchise disclosure documents, franchise agreements, and other crucial legal frameworks. Beyond the initial setup of a franchise business, the attorney will play a key role in ensuring ongoing compliance with evolving regulations, minimizing legal risks, and resolving disputes efficiently. The best franchise attorneys understand the unique challenges faced by franchisors and can offer personalized strategic advice on expanding the franchise network while safeguarding the brand’s integrity. The support from a franchise lawyer well versed in business law extends to all aspects of running a franchise system from assisting with franchisee relations, managing intellectual property concerns, engaging with vendors and suppliers, and providing ongoing guidance required to adapt to a changing business landscape.

By partnering with a knowledgeable franchise attorney, franchisors can confidently navigate the legal complexities, establish a robust foundation for their franchise system, and focus on sustainable growth and success. Planning for success and executing with precision is an essential part of building and sustaining a successful franchise system. As Virginia licensed franchise attorneys, our law firm can help clients franchise across the United States and our lawyers work diligently to secure registration in any state where the client wants to offer a franchise. 

Franchisor legal support Often includes:

  1. Development and implementation of a plan to franchise. 
  2. Development and protection of intellectual property. 
  3. Collection of data and creation of the franchise disclosure document.  
  4. Development of the franchise agreement and all ancillary contracts. 
  5. Development of vendor and supplier contracts. 
  6. Procurement of approval for the franchisor to offer franchises in franchise registration and filing states
  7. Education of sales teams and business leads on franchise law compliance. 
  8. Disclosure of prospects, preparation of addendums, and facilitation of franchise agreements. 
  9. Managing and resolving franchise disputes. 
  10. Day-to-day franchise and business legal support. 

Attorney fee structure

The traditional law firm approach relies heavily on the billable hour; however, many franchise law firms provide support on a fixed fee basis.  This includes a fixed one-time fee to develop the initial FDD and a fixed ongoing monthly fee to provide support in certain key areas.  We follow this approach for franchisors in developing the FDD and providing day-to-day support.  The key difference between Waldrop & Colvin and other firms in terms of pricing is that we are often able to deliver a wider range of support for a lower fee.  Our attorneys possess a high degree of experience across many aspects of business law and that enables them to provide support in areas where others cannot.  Another advantage in choosing to work with our firm is that our attorneys do a vast majority of the legal work, not a paralegal.  We keep costs low by leveraging technology and often working with clients remotely.  

Once we know a little about your business, we will provide a flat fee quote to draft and issue the FDD and a flat monthly fee to support your franchised business.  We encourage you to speak with us and see if we are a good fit.  We offer free no-hassle consultations by video or by phone.  

Franchisee Tailored Legal Support

Purchasing a franchised business requires a substantial commitment of time, energy, and capital.   You can never eliminate risk in business, but working with a franchise attorney can significantly help when it comes to choosing the right franchise opportunity and understanding and mitigating risk. Evaluating a franchise opportunity demands careful consideration, diligence, and expertise.

A skilled franchise attorney plays a pivotal role in this evaluation process by meticulously reviewing disclosure documents and contracts, and offering proactive legal support. While any skilled business attorney can review a contract, only attorneys with specialized knowledge in franchising can fully appreciate the legal intricacies of franchise law and the practical aspects of the franchise business model.  

Our franchisee attorneys possess the acumen to identify potential red flags, assess the fairness of business and legal terms, and ensure compliance with relevant federal and state laws. Beyond the legalities, a top franchisee attorney can offer valuable insights into industry standards, helping potential franchisees gauge the viability and competitiveness of the opportunity they are evaluating.

Engaging knowledgeable franchise legal counsel helps entrepreneurs make informed decisions, mitigate risks, and maximize their potential to succeed in franchising. 

Franchisor legal support Often includes:

  1. Comprehensive FDD review by a franchise attorney.
  2. Comprensive review and analysis of the franchise agreement and other contracts.
  3. Development of a written report documenting the FDD review. 
  4. Consultation and legal advice on rights and obligations.
  5. Consultation and negotiation on business legal terms.
  6. Business formation.
  7. Lease negotiation.
  8. Day-to-day legal support. 
  9. Transactional and M&A support. 
  10. Dispute resolution. 

Attorney fee structure

As we mentioned above, lawyers traditionally bill on a per hour basis. However, we strive to help entrepreneurs budget by providing a firm fixed cost whenever possible.  We are able to do this because we want to build long term relationships by providing value and we have the experience to know approximately how long it will take to complete each task.  For example, we provide a comprehensive FDD review and unlimited consultation for a competitive flat fee ($1,850). Likewise, we often help new franchisees by creating their business entity and drafting formation documents in compliance with any franchisor requirements for a reasonable fixed fee.  However, certain items are unpredictable – like negotiating commercial lease terms or assisting with employee relations. If we cannot provide a firm fixed cost than we will do our best to provide a time estimate. Obtaining solid legal support is the cost of doing business, but we do our best to make our engagement affordable and transparent. 

The Cost of Franchisor Legal Support

The traditional law firm approach relies heavily on the billable hour; however, many franchise law firms provide support on a fixed fee basis.  This includes a fixed one-time fee to develop the initial FDD and a fixed ongoing monthly fee to provide support in certain key areas.  We follow this approach for franchisors in developing the FDD and providing day-to-day support.  The key difference between Waldrop & Colvin and other firms in terms of pricing is that we are often able to deliver a wider range of support for a lower fee.  Our attorneys possess a high degree of experience across many aspects of business law and that enables them to provide support in areas where others cannot.  Another huge advantage in choosing to work with our firm is that our attorneys do a vast majority of the legal work, not a paralegal.  We keep costs low by leveraging technology and often working with clients remotely.  

Once we know a little about your business, we will provide a flat fee quote to draft and issue the FDD and a flat monthly fee to support your franchised business.  We encourage you to speak with us and see if we are a good fit.  We offer free no-hassle consultations by video or by phone.  

From Launch to Maturity

We are more than just a franchise law firm. We have the knowledge and experience to provide ongoing legal support.  From transactional support to dispute resolution, we want to be a part of your journey.  Many firms can support one aspect of your business or help you evaluate a franchise, but our attorney’s unique skill sets allow them to foster long term mutually beneficial relationships with business clients.  Our Virginia law firm can provide transactional support across the globe.  From launch to maturity, lets go! 

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Protect IP

We can help franchisors protect their brand by providing legal support throughout the trademark process. 

FDD

We can help franchisors by drafting the FDD and we can help franchisees by reviewing and explaining the FDD. We draft contracts and negotiate key legal terms for both franchisors and franchsiees. 

Compliance

We can help businesses develop best practices and navigate any legal challenges with employees, customers, or implicit in franchising. 

Maturity

We provide ongoing legal support as business leads manage the challenges of growing operations. In good times and bad, we serve as a trusted legal advisor. We are the law department for your business. 

Why Choose Our Law Firm?

World Class Legal

We empower clients to make informed decisions by providing premier legal talent.

Accessible

We are accessible by text, call, e-mail, video-conference, or in person in Hampton Roads, Virginia. We make ourselves available for next-day appointments.

Responsive

We respond to our clients within hours, not days. We value open and honest communication. You can count on us to pickup when you call.

Reasonable Fee

We work with clients on an hourly rate, fixed fee, or monthly subscription rate. Our competitive price and specialized knowledge are tough to beat.

Think you might be interested in retaining a world-class franchise law firm?

Click here to learn more about our franchise lawyers or learn more about attorney Derek Colvin’s path as a franchise lawyer in his “Top Lawyers” interview with Authority Magazine. Please also feel free to explore our site to learn more about our diverse practice areas (Business and Commercial Law) or learn about franchise law (federal franchise law or state franchise laws).   about Waldrop and Colvin as a franchise law firm. We are result oriented and laser focused on serving entrepreneurs by providing business legal solutions.  We are Virginia based, but we provide nationwide support.  

We focus on results and work hard to deliver solutions. Let us serve as the law department for your business. 

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