Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, LAW FIRM NEWS: Franchise attorney Wayne P. Bunch, Jr. joins DLA Piper in Houston, (Jan 8, 2014)

Franchise attorney Wayne P. Bunch, Jr. has joined DLA Piper as a partner in the firm’s Franchise and Distribution practice, the firm recently announced. Bunch is based in the firm’s Houston office.

Bunch focuses on providing business and legal counsel to startup, emerging, and established franchisors, and assisting clients with developing programs and distribution networks on a local, regional, and national level. He represents domestic and foreign franchisors and prospective franchisees in a wide variety of industries, including food and beverage, hospitality, real estate, pet care services, medical equipment, consumer technology, recruitment, tax services, education, and automotive.

Bunch joins DLA Piper from Jackson Walker LLP where he led the franchise practice. He also served as general counsel, president and chief executive officer for Crescent City Beignets Inc. where he was responsible for establishing the legal and business infrastructures for the franchise’s national growth strategy as well as managing the franchisor-franchisee relationship. Utilizing the franchise model, Bunch expanded Crescent City to an organization which included nearly 40 franchisees with over 100 units in development. After negotiating the sale of Crescent City to its most successful franchisee, Bunch operated his own boutique law firm until he joined Jackson Walker.

“Wayne is among the most highly regarded franchise lawyers in Texas and has an impressive skillset in the rapidly growing field of domestic and international distribution, licensing and franchising law,” said Dennis Wieczorek, chair of DLA Piper’s Franchise and Distribution practice. “His experience working with start-up and middle market companies, as well as serving as an officer for a national franchise company, will deepen the capabilities of the firm’s preeminent franchise and distribution practice.”

“Wayne represents the latest addition to the firm’s growing presence in the Southwest, which has long been a center of franchising activity,” said Ileana Blanco, managing partner of DLA Piper’s Houston office. “He will be a tremendous asset to our clients and we’re pleased to welcome a practitioner of his caliber to the firm.”

Bunch earned his J.D. and B.S. from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and an LL.M. from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.

DLA Piper is a global business law firm with 4,200 attorneys located in more than 30 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. The firm represents clients in a broad range of geographic and practice areas, including antitrust and European Union competition, cross-border litigation, intellectual property, international trade, and regulatory and government affairs.

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