Overview
Overview
O’Hagan Meyer provides comprehensive legal counsel to franchisors and franchisees navigating regulation, growth, and dispute across the franchise lifecycle.
Franchising presents significant opportunities for brand expansion, but it operates within a complex and evolving regulatory framework that requires careful planning and ongoing compliance. We work closely with clients to build, protect, and grow franchise systems while aligning legal strategy with business objectives.
We advise franchisors on structuring and expanding their systems with the appropriate corporate frameworks, intellectual property protections, and compliance strategies necessary for long-term success. Our team assists with the development and protection of trademarks, trade secrets, and other proprietary assets that define and differentiate franchise brands. We also guide franchisors through the preparation, registration, and maintenance of franchise disclosure documents and franchise agreements, helping ensure compliance with federal and state laws while maintaining brand consistency and operational control.
For franchisees, we provide detailed review and analysis of franchise disclosure documents and agreements to support informed investment decisions and risk assessment. In addition to these core services, we provide comprehensive regulatory and transactional guidance at every stage of the franchise lifecycle. This includes advising on compliance with federal and state franchise laws, managing franchise disclosure document filings and updates, and structuring systems to align regulatory requirements with strategic growth objectives. We also counsel clients on a wide range of transactional matters, including entity formation, corporate structuring, mergers and acquisitions, commercial leasing, financing arrangements, and the negotiation and drafting of franchise and related commercial agreements. Our integrated approach enables us to anticipate regulatory issues within transactions and develop solutions that support both compliance and long-term business success.
We also assist clients with broader business and transactional needs, including:
- Entity formation and corporate structuring
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Commercial leasing
- Financing and capital arrangements
Disputes within franchise systems can disrupt operations and strain relationships, making early, strategic intervention critical. We work with franchisors and franchisees to manage risk and resolve disputes efficiently through:
- Proactive counseling and risk mitigation strategies
- Negotiation and mediation
- Arbitration and litigation when necessary
Our experience spans a wide range of franchise-related disputes, including:
- Financial Performance Representation (FPR) claims
- Restrictive covenant enforcement, including non-compete and non-solicitation provisions
- Trademark misuse and brand protection issues
- Compliance with federal and state franchise statutes
- Breach of contract, fraud, and misrepresentation claims
- Territorial disputes
- Disputes about misuse of marketing funds
- Breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing
- Tort-based claims arising from incidents at franchise locations
When litigation is unavoidable, we partner with clients to develop strategies aligned with their business priorities, advocating effectively in court and arbitration while managing risk, cost, and operational impact.
The intersection of franchise law and employment law presents unique and evolving challenges. Requirements that franchisors maintain sufficient control to protect brand standards can create exposure under wage and hour, joint employer, and misclassification theories. We defend franchisors against claims asserting that franchisees or their workers are improperly classified and represent clients in government investigations and audits conducted by federal and state agencies.
We also advise and represent franchisors and franchisees in workforce-related matters, including:
- Wage and hour compliance and classification issues
- Joint employer allegations, including proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board
- Discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims
- Workplace policy development and compliance
- Internal investigations and dispute resolution
Our team provides coordinated support across the franchise lifecycle, integrating transactional, regulatory, litigation, and employment counseling to address the interconnected challenges faced by franchise systems. Clients rely on us for practical, business-focused guidance, responsive service, and strategies designed to protect both brand integrity and operational success.
Experience
Experience
- Defense of high-profile class action misclassification claims against some of the nation’s largest commercial cleaning franchisors.
- Defense of federal and state department of labor claims of misclassification against some of the nation’s largest commercial cleaning franchisors.
- Prosecution of claims of improper use of trademarks, violation of non-competition clauses upon termination of franchises for large national franchisors.
- Prosecution of theft of trade secrets and confidential information for large national franchisors.
- Defense of claims of fraud and failure to adhere to contractual obligations for large national franchisors.
- Defense of international franchisor for alleged improper use of franchise marketing fund contributions.
