Multi-Unit Practice
Restaurant Practice
I’ve had many jobs in the restaurant industry … busser, server, bartender … and dishwasher at Table of Contents in St. Paul, my favorite, while I went to Macalester. I went on to do some legal work for the company and owners during and after law school.
For the bulk of my professional life, I have been counsel to restaurant and other multi-unit owner operators, franchise systems as well as a general deal lawyer in multi-unit M&A and finance. I first was exposed to the legal side of franchising and different models of multi-unit development and expansion in 1989 at the law firm of O’Conner & Hannan in Minneapolis. My best friend’s old man, Tom MacIntosh, took me under his wing and gave me the opportunity to learn about the law and business while working with his group to manage the massive paperwork involved in franchise registration. This was 1989, before Word – I manually redlined UFOCs (the FDD predecessor) and other documents with ruler and red felt pen.
The primary market focus in my practice is restaurant and hospitality, automotive aftermarket and other franchised or multi-unit retail markets. I currently serve as outside general counsel to several multi-unit franchised restaurant operators and other multi-unit retail businesses, having helped clients acquire over 500 stores and develop over 75 more. I have also represented non-franchised restaurants, food trucks and franchises in other industries including hair care, quick lube and other retail.
Not all my work relates to on-going representation. I have acted as special counsel for operators, sellers, buyers, advisors, lenders and financiers of small to mid-sized businesses and multi-unit operations, taking lead and secondary roles. I have also assisted in organizational restructures and generational transfers and well as single engagements for real estate leases or other contract negotiations.
