Welcome Laura Liss to Pillars

by Laura Liss and Elizabeth Denham

Pillars of Franchising is excited to announce the addition of franchise attorney Laura Liss to the team. Laura works on both the franchisor and franchisee sides of the legal world and has knowledge that will help our clients and educate our live stream viewers. As a regular host on the show, Laura will offer helpful legal tips and an experienced perspective on a variety of topics that relate to franchise law. She is also available to answer call-in questions during the broadcast.

I know you work with your father who is a long-time franchise attorney. Was it he who inspired you to become a lawyer? My parents are both attorneys, and much of my inspiration does come from seeing all of their hard work for clients while growing up! I love working with entrepreneurs and business owners, and law is a great way to get to do that.

What attracted you to franchise law? I love working with entrepreneurs and business owners. Franchise law touches on so many different areas (trademark law, corporate law, real estate law, etc.) and thatmeans that no two projects or days are the same. I enjoy the variety!

What is it like working with your father? My dad is my biggest cheerleader! I am really fortunate to have his support now and even before I joined the firm when I used to live and practice franchise law in Denver.

What do you like to do in your time off? I enjoy a pretty active lifestyle – long nature walks, time with family, travel, and cooking/baking! The pandemic has given me more time to do almost all of those things, which has been an upside.

What should we be keeping an eye on in terms of potential legislation that could impact franchising? Periodically some required updates to the Franchise Disclosure Document occur, which is the legal document used to sell franchises, and I believe those are currently under evaluation. Separately, more potential regulation that may affect the franchise industry is happening at the employee-employer level, which can make it more costly to be a franchisee (an employer). But it is still a great time to be a franchisee or to franchise an existing, successful business!

When potential franchisees do their due diligence, what are the top three things you think many don’t do enough of? Most potential franchisees have never had their own business before and so they don’t have the experience to do a thorough budget or know how to forecast revenue. This means that they may not be able to build a strong business plan or feel confident going forward.

Other franchisees are intimidated by taking out a bank loan to finance their business, but an underfunded business is much more likely to fail, and interest rates are still relatively low.

Finally, many new franchisees are inexperienced with social media and don’t realize how many of their customers will find them through these networks. Having great social media is very important! Even if the franchisee doesn’t like or use social media, they need to have someone else in their life who does know it evaluate how the franchise is doing it and see if it is being done well.

What trends are you seeing in your practice regarding franchising? The biggest trend is the return of new franchise buyers! Many were scared off by the uncertainty earlier in the pandemic, but now we are working with many clients on reviewing their franchises and starting their companies.

If you were going to buy a franchise, which one would you buy? I get asked this often! I would probably buy something in the pet-care sector like a doggie daycare franchise. Many people got pets during the pandemic, and even if folks are working from home more, most will resume going to the office a couple days a week at least, creating demand for daycare services; plus animal boarding services will be needed for travel.

What do you enjoy most about working with the crazy Pillars crew? I enjoy how committed everyone is to franchising and the shared knowledge!

Laura advises on franchise, general commercial, real estate, and trademark transactions and litigation matters, including preparing and reviewing franchise disclosure documents, buying or selling a business, commercial real estate and contractual matters, as well as trademark litigation. Laura previously practiced in Denver, CO. Her involvement in the Denver community includes: Chair, Franchise Subsection of the Colorado Bar Association; Member, Doyle Inn of Court; FY 2017-2018 - Trustee and Second Vice Chair, Board of Trustees, Denver Bar Association; -FY 2105-2018 - Executive Committee Member, Denver Bar Association Young Lawyers’ Division. Laura can be reached at Laura@lisslamar.com.