Leonard D Vines

Practice Areas

Franchising & Distribution Industry; Distribution; Established & Growing Franchisors; Franchising Regulatory Compliance & Exemptions; Start-Up Franchisors; Business Law; Joint Ventures & Strategic Alliances; Mergers & Acquisitions; Private Wealth Services; Private Equity; Franchising & Distribution

Career

Leonard is a nationally recognized expert in franchising with extensive experience representing franchisors and distributors. He has advised national, regional, and local franchisors on matters including alternatives to franchising, structuring franchise and distribution programs, complying with state and federal laws and regulations, defending state enforcement actions, handling franchise terminations and transfers, and resolving franchisor-franchisee disputes.

Leonard has assisted start-up and established franchisors, as well as franchisees and franchisee associations. He works closely with litigators on trial strategy and alternative dispute resolution and has represented companies and individuals on legal matters such as real estate transactions and mergers and acquisitions of franchise companies. He frequently assists lenders who are loaning money to businesses that are acquiring other franchise companies. Leonard’s unique mediation style marries his deep knowledge of the nuances of franchising businesses gained from his decades-long career representing both franchisors and franchisees, and his commitment to ethics in negotiations and understanding of the importance of strong business relationships.

A frequent lecturer and writer on franchise topics, Leonard has spoken for groups, including the American Bar Association Forum Committee on Franchising and the International Franchise Association, and has written for The Franchise Law Journal and the ABA Journal. He is a certified mediator and former municipal judge and is a member in good standing of the mediation and arbitration panels of Forum.

Professional Memberships

Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis; International Franchise Association (Legal Symposium Planning Committee, 2011-2012); American Bar Association Forum Committee on Franchising (Governing Committee, 2002-2005); North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) (Franchise Project Group Industry Advisory Committee, 2007-2021; Emeritus Member, 2024 – present); University of Missouri School of Law, Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution (Certified Mediator); Law Journal Newsletter's "Franchising Business & Law Alert" (Editorial Board)

Publications

Co-Author, Chapter 2, "Scope and Coverage of the FTC Rule," The FTC Franchise Rule Third Edition (2019)

"Lenders Beware: Potential Red Flags When Financing Franchises," ABF Journal (November/December 2017)

"Exemptions Under the FTC Franchise Rule," Exemptions and Exclusions under Federal and State Franchise Registration and Disclosure Laws, American Bar Association (2017)

Co-Editor, Mergers and Acquisitions of Franchise Companies, American Bar Association, Forum on Franchising, 2nd Edition (2014)

Education