2025’s Top Franchise Legal Players: Ryan Whitfill - CM Law

Legal Player: Ryan Whitfill
Firm: CM Law

Ryan Whitfill, a partner at CM Law, came to franchising by way of corporate and securities work. As a young associate, he stepped in when his firm lost its franchise law associates and began working with the firm’s leading franchise partner. The fit stuck. He found energy in serving franchisors and became a core member of the franchise practice, a path that still shapes his approach today. Whitfill’s counsel centers on protecting the brand by preserving the product and service standards that made it successful in the first place, then scaling those standards through training, support, incentives and regular reviews.

1851 Franchise reached out to Whitfill to learn how franchisors can protect their brand and avoid legal mistakes. Check out his insights below.

1851 Franchise: How did you fall into franchising?

Ryan Whitfill: I actually started my career as a corporate and securities lawyer in a large national law firm, and was first introduced to franchise law as a young associate when my firm had an unexpected loss of all its franchise law associates. I was given the opportunity to begin working with the most prominent franchise law partner at the firm and found that I really enjoyed working with franchisors because they were energetic, creative and generally loved what they were doing. I quickly became an essential part of the firm’s franchise practice group and never went back to general corporate law.

1851: What do you see as the most important things franchisors should do to protect their brand?

Whitfill: The most important thing that franchisors should do in order to protect their brand is to make sure that the original brand standards that made them successful (both product quality and service quality) are maintained, or even elevated, as their franchise system grows. If franchisees are properly trained, incentivized, supported and reviewed by the franchisor, then the brand is likely to grow its customer base, customer loyalty and its brand value.

1851: How important is the information in Item 19?

Whitfill: Item 19 is the most important information in the FDD for most prospects, so I always recommend that my clients include financial performance information in Item 19 whenever it’s feasible to do so. The financial performance information in Item 19 allows a prospect to understand how the existing company-owned and franchised locations have performed in the past, and most franchise prospects will be eager to see that information as they evaluate their options and consider whether to move forward with purchasing a franchise.

1851: What is the single largest legal mistake brands make?

Whitfill: While I’ve seen many mistakes made by franchisors over the years, I would have to say that one of the most critical mistakes a franchise brand can make is to provide prospects with unauthorized financial performance information outside of FDD Item 19. Unfortunately, some franchisors fall into this dangerous scenario, either due to not understanding the finer points of franchise disclosure law (or hiring sales agents that don’t understand the law) or through intentional stretching of the boundaries of legal disclosure. Providing unauthorized financial performance information places the entire franchise system in legal jeopardy for years to come, so I try to make sure that all of my clients understand the law in this regard and emphasize compliance within their franchise sales/marketing teams.

1851: How do you stand out as a franchise law firm?

Whitfill: I try to stand out by letting my clients know they are important to me and helping them accomplish their goals as quickly and efficiently as possible. I try to put myself in their place and provide the type of responsiveness and client service that I would want if I were on the other side of the relationship. In addition, our firm, CM Law, operates on a unique model that allows me to serve my clients efficiently and add value to them far beyond what I could do at a large, top-heavy law firm.

1851: What is the best business advice you have received in your career?

Whitfill: Take ownership. As a younger attorney, I did not really understand what that meant, but as I got older I realized that the only way to be successful in any venture is to take pride in what you do and make sure you feel good about standing behind your work and your actions.

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