Sandra Wall rejoins DLA Piper from McDonald’s

 October 26, 2015 – DLA Piper is pleased to announce that Sandy Wall has rejoined the firm's Franchise & Distribution practice after spending more than ten years at McDonald’s Corporation.  Sandy practiced franchise and distribution law with DLA Piper for almost nineteen years before she began her tenure at McDonald’s.
 
Most recently, Sandy served as Managing Counsel of the Franchise practice at McDonald’s, where she led the team of lawyers responsible for franchise law compliance matters.  Sandy was responsible for the preparation of the company’s disclosure document and the issuance of all franchise agreements.  She also oversaw the transfers of all McDonald’s restaurants, including sales between franchisees and the purchase and sale of company-owned restaurants. Gloria Santona, McDonald’s General Counsel characterized Sandy as “an excellent attorney and a true client advocate, with exceptionally deep expertise in franchising law.  She has a nuanced understanding of how to effectively navigate complex relationships with owner/operators and in preparing and handling franchise disclosures.” 
 
Sandy’s extensive in-house experience also includes over three years at Sears, Roebuck and Co., where she was an associate general counsel.  In that role, Sandy oversaw commercial contacts, including vendor agreements, dealer agreements, license agreements with third-party independent contractors, consulting agreements and strategic sourcing initiatives.  She was also integrally involved in putting together several start-up franchise programs while at Sears.
 
Rich Greenstein, the chairman of DLA Piper’s Franchise & Distribution practice, commented that the firm was “thrilled to have Sandy back at DLA Piper.  With her vast experience at McDonald’s and past tenure at DLA Piper, Sandy brings a unique set of skills that will benefit our franchise clients, especially given these turbulent times when many are attacking the franchise model.  Sandy is a highly respected franchise attorney whose expertise will serve not only large and small franchise companies, but also investors interested in acquiring franchise companies.  She is a perfect fit for the critical transactional aspects of our practice’s client offerings.”
 
Sandy received her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Illinois.
 
In 2015, Chambers Global recognized DLA Piper as the only tier-one franchise law firm, Franchise Times magazine selected 10 lawyers from the firm’s Franchise and Distribution practice as 2015 Legal Eagles and Best Lawyers honored thirteen DLA Piper attorneys as 2016 Best Lawyers in America in the franchise law category.
 
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