2026 Top Franchise Lawyers You Should Know: Elizabeth Sigety — Fox Rothschild LLP

Franchise Legal Player: Elizabeth Sigety
Firm: Fox Rothschild LLP

Elizabeth Sigety advises franchise brands on growth, compliance and long-term risk. Working with emerging and middle-market franchisors across multiple sectors, she takes a practical, business-minded approach to franchise law. She helps brands scale responsibly while protecting the franchisor and franchisee experience.

1851 Franchise connected with Sigety to discuss what franchisors often overlook, where legal risk hides during expansion and the lessons that continue to shape her advisory philosophy.

1851 Franchise: What originally drew you to franchise law, and what has kept you engaged in the space over time? 

Elizabeth Sigety: My family ran an area development restaurant franchise many years ago, which drew me to franchising. I like the idea of building a business, and franchising offers the support needed for entrepreneurs to start and build their companies.

1851: As franchising continues to evolve, what legal issue do you see brands most often underestimating today? 

Sigety: With the rapid pace of technology development, including AI, and increases in data privacy regulation, attention to those issues often falls behind.

1851: In your experience, where do emerging franchisors tend to get tripped up from a compliance or documentation standpoint? 

Sigety: Growing too fast — being too casual in the beginning, selling too aggressively and not planning for support and compliance of franchisees with the laws that affect their industry. 

1851: How should franchisors be thinking about risk management as they scale into new markets or add new unit growth strategies? 

Sigety: Make sure they have the financial support and experienced personnel to support growth.

1851: What distinguishes your approach or philosophy when working with franchise clients? 

Sigety: I like to think I am not just advising clients on franchise regulatory compliance, but also what is needed to grow their brand successfully, with advice in all areas, whether financing, employment, data privacy, real estate, intellectual property, etc. To have attorneys with these areas of expertise while also understanding the franchise model is important.

1851: Looking back, what lesson from your legal career has had the greatest impact on how you advise clients today? 

Sigety: Being able to see the big picture and incorporating your client’s concerns and goals into legal support.

Every great franchisee had help buying a franchise. Want to learn more about how 1851 helps franchisees find the right franchise opportunity? Visit www.1851growthclub.com and start your journey.