Nancy L. Lanard

Nancy Lanard is passionate about her clients and their success. For over 25 years Nancy has prided herself in listening to her clients, thinking outside the box to respond to their needs and speaking to them in plain English and not legalese. With her years of experience as an in-house attorney and as a business owner herself, Nancy can better advise her business clients, and brings to the relationship an in-depth understanding and compassion for their business situations and needs.She is the author of many articles, has been quoted in numerous national publications and has been interviewed for many video and audio podcasts and radio programs on the topic of business and franchise law. Her years of experience representing clients buying a franchise or businesses that want to expand by franchising nationwide, has earned her the award of Legal Eagle for over 12 consecutive years. Nancy not only represents start-ups and small to mid-size companies as their legal advisor, she also represents commercial tenants/franchisees nationwide for many franchise chains, including My Salon Suite, Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, Pet Supplies Plus, Scout & Molly's, Huntington Learning Center and Sylvan Learning Center, among others. Nancy believes that every successful business has a team behind it consisting of a business attorney and a business accountant. Nancy would like to be on your business team. Let her know how she can make your business dreams a reality.Nancy started her legal practice working as an in-house attorney for several very large corporations, the last of which was Nutri/System, Inc., which at the time was the number one weight-loss company in the United States, having 1300 franchised locations and 500 corporate locations. While at Nutri/System, she oversaw mass tort litigation of over 500 personal injury/product liability lawsuits, responded to federal investigations of her clients by the FDA and FTC, advised on American's with Disabilities Act compliance, prepared employment manuals, assisted with international and national trademark and patent licensing and provided bankruptcy and antitrust advice. When Nutri/System, Inc. went into bankruptcy over 25 years ago, Nancy started her law firm.With her years of experience as an in-house attorney and as a business owner herself, Nancy can better advise her business clients, and brings to the relationship understanding and compassion for their business situations and needs.Nancy's experience has included advising and assisting with evaluation of franchise documents, general corporate and real estate counseling (including negotiating and drafting contracts, handling the purchase and sale of businesses, drafting joint venture agreements, and representing businesses in the buying, selling, developing, managing, and leasing of real estate).She has also assisted with hiring, firing, promoting and managing employees and the issues surrounding those actions; preparing financing documentation; advising on federal regulations; and drafting and negotiating documentation for the sale and acquisition of franchises, including preparing Franchise Disclosure Documents and Franchise Agreements.Nancy is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, having graduated in three years with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish, obtained her Masters of Science degree in Education the following year, with honors, and then subsequently graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from Villanova University School of Law in the top ten percent of her class and on the Law Review.Nancy is a member of the American Bar Association Business Law Section and Forum on Franchising, the Pennsylvania Bar Association where she has sat on the Board of the Solo and Small Firm Section, and has been appointed to the Women in the Profession Commission, and the Montgomery County Bar Association's Business Law Section and Franchise Law Committee. She sits on the Board of Directors and is Chair of the Virtual Programming Committee which includes the Virtual Speaker Series for Women Owned Law (WOL), is on the Board of Directors of PBN (Professional Business Network), has been an Ambassador for the Suburban Horsham Willow Grove Chamber of Commerce and the Women's Resource Group of the Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, and former chair of the Women's Business Resource Network of the Horsham Chamber of Commerce. Nancy is active in neighborhood relations and has assisted the youth in her community through various volunteer activities.Nancy resides in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and enjoys spending time with her family. Her favorite pastime is photography - particularly photos of sunsets, birds and her family.