How One Spadea Lignana Attorney’s Experience in Franchising Turned into a Passion for Practicing Franchise Law

When attorney Andy Matson began his career in franchising, he was on the business side of the industry. After reading about the franchise Foot Solutions in a magazine, he was inspired to research and eventually buy into the foot wellness retail-brand. After 10 years as a franchisee, the entrepreneur changed professional directions and began law school at Temple University. During law school he met Tom Spadea and Josh Lignana, the founders of the franchise law firm, Spadea Lignana. He worked with Tom and Josh during law school and after graduation joined the firm as a full time franchise attorney. Using his unique perspective and experience as an entrepreneur himself, Matson loves helping his clients find solutions to their legal problems while helping them navigate a complicated industry.

As a leader in the firm, Matson works with his team of paralegals daily to provide the best service possible to his many clients. Matson represents franchisors ranging from the new brand launches to systems with hundreds of units in all industries across the nation. He works collaboratively with his team of paralegals to organize the myriad of legal details franchise systems need to track to remain compliant. Much of his time is also focused on the bigger picture high level advice helping clients plan for the long term.

“I really enjoy working with franchisors on the legal end of things,” said Matson. “It’s rewarding to be able to use the experience I gained as a previous franchise owner to inform my advice to clients now — I get to help them solve difficult issues in a cost effective, streamlined way.”

The fact that Matson understands the issues that small business owners face in their day-to-day business dealings makes him an invaluable asset to the Spadea Lignana team. Matson focuses his practice on helping clients through the franchising process and has an appreciation for the diverse backgrounds that business owners in the franchising industry have. Though Matson is able to pull from his own experience, he thoroughly enjoys hearing new and unique business models.

“I believe that listening is key,” Matson said. “Although I have a great deal of experience and insight to bring to my clients, there are always new and challenging situations. Understanding the goals of my clients is key to helping them succeed. I really strive to bring my best work to the table every day.”

Matson’s clients are truly seeing that effort. Matt and Adam Cahill, a father and son who own and run the franchise Supply Pointe together both enjoy working with Matson and the broader Spadea Lignana team.

“We like them all and we think they’re all really good people,” said Matt, founder of Supply Pointe. “Andy is who we work with most of the time but the whole team is always very gracious and quick to help us out. When we first became franchisors, they put a program in place for us that was doable and helped us get the legal representation we needed without going broke. I can’t think of a single time their advice isn’t spot on. Andy has a stellar sense of humor and is a great person to talk to. We interact as friends — they are some of our favorite folks.”

Matt’s son Adam, who owns and operates his own franchise of the Supply Pointe brand in North Carolina, shared similar sentiments of the Spadea Lignana team: “We ended up re-registering in a state. Initially we reached out about what the hypotheticals were of this state on a Friday and they gave me all the information I needed over the weekend. Andy’s professionalism and the fast turnaround help us know they’re working for us. They treat us so well, and they move quickly too.”

Founding partner, Tom Spadea, concurred a similar sentiment in expressing his excitement to have Matson as a part of the team. Matson’s clear drive and passion for finding the best possible solutions for his clients — paired with his years of experience in franchising —  is something that Spadea says should be recognized.

“Andy’s ability to not only understand the client but also hear the nuances of each situation is fantastic,” said Spadea. “A big part of our culture and brand is having attorneys who worked in the franchising industry prior to law. It’s important that we capture exactly what our clients need as their legal advisor; and Andy does that extremely well with his immense capacity for empathy and listening.”

With so many challenges facing franchisors and franchisees during the pandemic, Matson believes his experience can steer clients in the right direction and guide them toward a fruitful and cost-effective future that will keep them coming back for more insight and legal guidance in the years to come.

“I’d much rather be representing a franchisor that's in control of the brand than operate a business of my own,” said Matson. “Running a business day-to-day is extremely hard. A lot of franchisees have to be hustling every day — I'd rather hustle as an attorney. It's truly rewarding to help my clients achieve their goals at an affordable price and I look forward to seeing where our firm and our clients grow in the future.”