Boca Raton
Address: 2255 Glades Road, Suite 400 Boca Raton, FL 33431Phone: (561) 555-0142Hours: Monday – Friday: 8:30am – 5:30pmCalista Amankwah, franchise agreements
Directions to the Boca Raton office
Franchise counsel · Boca Raton, Florida
Sign your franchise with your eyes open
I’m Calista Amankwah. I read franchise agreements, leases and purchase contracts for owners in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade, and I tell you what each page will cost you before you sign it.
What owners bring me
Paper I read for owners
Most of my work starts with a document someone else wrote. These are the four I see most.
Franchise agreements
The disclosure document and the agreement behind it, read line by line: fees, territory, renewal, transfer and what happens if you leave.
Franchise agreementsBuying or selling a business
A letter of intent, a purchase agreement or a franchise resale, with the landlord and the franchisor’s approval kept in view.
Buying or sellingLeases and contracts
Storefront leases, supplier terms and staff agreements, and a lawyer on call by the month once the doors are open.
Leases and contractsDisputes
A partner who wants out, a franchisor’s notice of default or a landlord’s demand: what your options are and what each one costs.
Disputes
Three offices
Find the office nearest your shop
Each office has its own lawyer and its own phone. Walk in to the closest, or call any of them and ask for the desk that fits.
Delray Beach
Address: 233 East Atlantic Avenue, Suite 210 Delray Beach, FL 33444Phone: (561) 555-0157Hours: Monday – Friday: 8:30am – 5:30pmIlan Pomerantz, buying and selling
Directions to the Delray Beach officeFort Lauderdale
Address: 401 East Las Olas Boulevard, Suite 1400 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301Phone: (954) 555-0163Hours: Monday – Friday: 8:30am – 5:30pmDimitra Prokopiou, leases and disputes
Directions to the Fort Lauderdale office
From owners who asked first
“I had circled three clauses. Calista found two more, and a renewal fee that never came up in the sales meeting. I signed a different agreement.”
Janelle P.Franchise owner
“Ilan walked the buyer’s lawyer and my landlord through one timeline, so nobody was waiting on anybody at the closing table.”
Priti N.Sold a landscaping company
“Dimitra read our lease before our partner and I fell out over it. When we did, we already knew what it said.”
Abelard K.Restaurant co-owner
Each client’s matter is different. These are sample comments, and what happened for one owner does not predict what will happen for you.
What owners ask first
How long before I sign should I call you?
As soon as you hold the franchise disclosure document. The federal franchise rule says the seller hands it over at least 14 days before you sign or pay anything, and a full review fits inside that window with room to ask the franchisor questions.
Do you work for franchisors too?
My clients are owners: people buying or running a franchise, and people buying or selling a small business. I will help a small brand write its first agreement, but I do not act for a franchisor against its own franchisees.
What does a first review cost?
A franchise agreement review is a flat fee, quoted in writing before I start. It covers the disclosure document, the agreement and one call to go through what I found. Talking to the franchisor on your behalf is billed by the hour, and I quote that before I start. Court and filing costs are separate.
Which office should I use?
The closest one to your shop. Each lawyer has a focus, but any of us will take your call and send you to the right desk without charge for the first conversation.
Bring the contract you were handed
Send it over before you sign. I’ll tell you what it says, what it leaves out and what to ask for.
Please don’t send confidential details with your first message.