About us
OUR MISSION & MOTIVATION
“We care deeply about our clients, and we cultivate and nurture long-term client relationships, enabling our clients to do what they do best – with the comfort of knowing they can rely on us to help them protect their brand as well as their business assets.”
A DIFFERENT TYPE OF FIRM
A DIFFERENT FOCUS
Rather than cater to everyone, we aggressively focus on the needs of our target clientele – businesses looking to grow through franchising. We have built our firm around those needs. Our guiding philosophy is a never-ending pursuit to provide not just the best legal advice, but to also serve as valuable business advisors for our clients.
We know franchising. We know business. We go to great lengths to know YOUR business. We are not just lawyers, but business people who bring real world experience to the table. This real world experience sets us apart from other law firms. Our goal is to deliver the optimal blend of business and legal expertise to clients seeking to grow their business through franchising.
Our lawyers are not “traditional” lawyers
Dan Matthews brings a rich background in franchise regulation, serving as a Franchise Examining Attorney and Associate General Counsel with the Washington Department of Financial Institutions, and as a chair and member of several NASAA committees. As a franchise examiner, Dan reviewed and vetted over 500 franchise disclosure documents (FDDs) and also participated, alongside the Washington Attorney General’s office, in investigations and enforcement actions relating to both franchise and securities offerings. He also regularly collaborated with the SEC, FINRA and the FTC on application reviews and forthcoming regulatory matters. He frequently presented at national conferences and trainings on a variety of securities and franchise related events. In 2017, he entered private franchise practice under his own law firm, Matthews Franchise Law, working with new and established franchisors, as well as franchisees seeking to purchase franchises. Dan also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and worked on a trade desk managing a multi-billion dollar fixed income portfolio.
Michael Reagan brings over two decades of legal and franchising expertise to the Firm. From 2000 until the sale of the company in June, 2016, Michael served as a senior executive and the General Counsel of Kahala Brands, Ltd., which owns well-known brands such as Cold Stone Creamery, Blimpie, Great Steak & Potato and America’s Taco Shop. At Kahala Brands, Mike was responsible for overseeing all of the legal and administrative affairs for the company and its over 3,200 restaurant locations worldwide. In this role, he also oversaw the Human Resources, Real Estate, Information Technology, and Transfer/Renewal Departments for Kahala Brands. Since joining the company in 2000, Michael played a key role on the executive team that helped grow the company from one concept with 80 units to nineteen concepts with over 3,200 units. His extensive experience in the industry has afforded him the opportunity to be able to speak to different groups and organizations as one of the top franchise experts in the country. Prior to joining Kahala Brands, Michael was a commercial transaction attorney at Ryley, Carlock & Applewhite, a Phoenix-based law firm serving Fortune 1000 clients, and a staff accountant at Deloitte & Touche, LLP, serving Arizona-based Fortune 500 clients.
Aaron Gagnon is focused on the intersection of law and business. Following law school, Aaron joined the legal department of Kahala Brands, where he worked closely with Mike Reagan. Over his seven-plus years at Kahala, Aaron has worked his way to the position of Vice President of Litigation & Assistant General Counsel, where he manages litigation, executes M&A strategy and due diligence processes, oversees risk management strategies, and develops processes to continually improve Kahala’s legal systems. While managing a very hectic workload at Kahala, Aaron started a franchise consulting company where he assisted franchisors in developing their franchise systems.
Ashley Nielsen has more than seven years of franchise law experience representing both franchisors and franchisees. Ashley has represented countless franchisors, ranging from start-up to mature, with their regulatory and transactional franchise needs. She has also served as “outsourced corporate counsel” to many of her franchisor clients, assisting with a variety of general corporate matters including vendor agreements, employment matters, asset purchase agreements, leases, and more. She regularly assists franchisor clients with the pre-litigation stages of disputes with franchisees. She also works extensively with franchisee buyers in evaluating and purchasing their franchises, as well as with current franchisees in setting up, operating, selling, and winding down their franchised businesses. Ashley recently served as Chair of the Franchise Committee of the North Carolina Bar Association and has presented multiple continuing learning education classes on franchising to business lawyers in North Carolina. Prior to joining Warshawsky Law Group, Ashley was Of Counsel at the North Carolina law firm of Manning, Fulton & Skinner, P.A., and clerked for Justice Cheri Beasley of the Supreme Court of North Carolina.
In addition to the unique experiences listed above, our attorneys also have “big firm” experience where they gained valuable training, insights and skills representing sophisticated clients in complex transactions. Dan Warshawsky spent seven years with Greenberg Traurig, one of the largest law firms in the United States, where he was involved with representing some of the most successful franchise brands in the country. However, it is our business experience that sets us apart.
A DIFFERENT ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP
We know what businesses need. We also know that fixing a problem “after the fact” is more expensive and time consuming than avoiding the problem in the first place. That’s why we spend countless hours getting to know each client’s business in depth. And that’s why many of our clients sign up for our ongoing flat fee package plans. We encourage clients to pick up the phone and keep us apprised of relevant business developments without fear of their next monthly invoice. Clients shouldn’t have to conduct a cost/benefit analysis to determine whether it’s worthwhile to seek our advice on a regular basis. We strive to be proactive business advisors that steer our clients away from trouble BEFORE trouble has a chance to rear its ugly head.
LAW FIRM AWARDS
Entrepreneur Magazine – Franchise Supplier Rankings:
- Top Franchise Legal Supplier: 2018, 2020–2022
U.S. News & World Report – Best Law Firms
- Best Law Firms in America – Franchise Law: 2018–2025
INDIVIDUAL LAWYER AWARDS – DAN WARSHAWSKY
Acquisition International
- Leading Franchise Structuring and Development Attorney of the Year: Arizona: 2019–2020
Attorney at Law Magazine
- Attorney of the Month: 2015
AVVO
- Perfect “10.0” Rating
Best Lawyers in America – U.S. News & World Report
- Best Lawyers in America – Franchise Law: 2021–2025
Franchise Times – Legal Eagle (recognizing top franchise lawyers in North America)
- Legal Eagle: 2008, 2010–2025 (2021 recipient of highest number of votes according to Franchise Times staff member)
Latin Lawyer Magazine
- M&A Deal of the Year Award: 2007 (represented Woods Staton & Arcos Dorados in acquisition of 1,560 corporate-owned McDonalds and master franchise rights for all of of Latin America and certain Caribbean countries)
Lexology – Client Choice Award (recognition awarded exclusively based on nominations submitted by in-house corporate counsel)
- Franchising: 2019 (Sole Recipient in U.S. for Franchise Law)
Lexology – Thought Leaders USA (recognition awarded to top experts in a designated field)
- USA – Franchising: 2025
Phoenix Magazine (top lawyer recognition based on peer nominations)
- Top Lawyer: 2022(inaugural listing)–2024
Super Lawyer (top 5% of attorneys in Southwest over 40 years of age)
- Super Lawyer: 2018 –2025
Southwest Rising Star (top 2.5% of attorneys in Southwest under 40 years of age)
- Rising Star: 2012–2016
Who’s Who Legal
- Franchise Law: 2016–2024
For a listing of awards and recognitions received by other firm attorneys, please visit the OUR TEAM page to view the individual attorney bios.
Entrepreneur Magazine Award
Best Lawyers Firms in America
Best Law Firms in America US News
WHY CHOOSE US?
Warshawsky Law Group is a non-traditional law firm revolutionizing the landscape of franchise legal services. Since our inception in 2013, we’ve backed up our commitment to deliver proactive, practical and pragmatic legal services of the highest quality while maintaining our predictable and affordable fee structures.