Lance Formwalt represents franchisors in the development of franchise programs and related compliance matters and represents both franchisors and franchisees in domestic and international franchise transactions, including the purchase and sale of going concern franchise businesses.  The focus of Lance’s franchise practice is in the restaurant and hospitality industries, and he chairs the firm’s Restaurant and Hospitality Industry Practice.

Lance also leads the firm’s Equipment Dealer Practice Group.  In this capacity, he serves as legal counsel to several equipment dealer associations, including the Western Equipment Dealers Association and the Equipment Dealers Association, and also represents many individual equipment dealerships. Lance assists dealers and their associations in a wide variety of matters, including the negotiation of dealer agreements and related financing arrangements, drafting and enforcement of fair dealership statutes, merger and purchase/sale transactions between dealerships and succession planning.

He was previously Associate General Counsel for Applebee’s International, Inc. where he was responsible for corporate transactions, domestic franchise matters and management of the company’s trademark portfolio. He served as lead in-house counsel for the negotiation of the $1.9 billion securitization structure which was used to finance Applebee’s acquisition by IHOP Corp. He also served as lead in-house counsel for the establishment of a re-franchising program involving more than 400 company-owned restaurants. Additionally, Lance served as General Counsel for the international division of Applebee’s, a role that included responsibility for franchise matters and oversight for the establishment of Applebee’s company-owned operations in China.