Your Franchise Exit Strategy Starts With a Surgical Strike Audit
This is not a passive review. The Surgical Strike Audit is a forensic legal analysis that identifies every leverage point in your franchise agreement, FDD, and franchisor conduct, so you know exactly where you stand and what your options are. At Lopes Law LLC, we built this audit because too many franchisees waste months guessing when they could have answers in five business days.
$2,000 flat fee. Results in 5 business days. No hourly billing.
What Does the Franchise Exit Audit Cover?
Every franchise relationship has leverage points. The problem is that most franchisees do not know where to look. The audit covers seven areas that together give you a complete picture of your legal position.
Agreement Clause Analysis
We dissect your franchise agreement’s termination provisions, renewal conditions, transfer restrictions, and non-compete clauses to identify every provision that helps or hurts your position.
FDD Red Flag Scan
A forensic review of Items 6, 8, 12, 17, and 19 of the Franchise Disclosure Document. We flag fee discrepancies, territory ambiguities, and financial performance misrepresentations that may create legal claims.
Franchisor Conduct Review
Documented instances of breach of good faith, undisclosed system changes, territory encroachment, support failures, or supply chain overcharges. These become your leverage in any negotiation.
SBA Loan Exposure Assessment
If you financed through an SBA loan, we analyze your personal guarantee exposure, potential workout options, and whether the franchisor’s conduct may constitute a defense to repayment obligations.
State Franchise Law Protections
19 states and the District of Columbia have franchise relationship laws that provide protections beyond the FTC Rule. We determine which laws apply to your situation and what additional rights they give you.
Financial Leverage Mapping
Fee overcharges, marketing fund misuse, mandatory supply chain markups, and hidden cost escalations. If the franchisor is extracting more than they are entitled to, we find it and quantify it.
Exit Path Recommendation
The final section of your Surgical Strike Report ranks your options — negotiated exit, demand letter, mediation, arbitration, or litigation — by viability, timeline, and cost. You walk away knowing not just what your rights are, but what to do next. At Lopes Law LLC, we believe an audit without an action plan is just paperwork.
Three Steps to Your Surgical Strike Report
From your first call to a complete legal strategy in your hands — five business days.
Book Your Audit
Schedule a free 20-minute consultation. We assess whether the audit is right for your situation and explain exactly what you will receive. If you engage, the $2,000 flat fee covers everything. No hourly billing, no add-ons.
We Analyze Everything
Send us your franchise agreement, FDD, any correspondence with the franchisor, and financial records. Over five business days, we conduct the complete seven-point analysis across every dimension of your franchise relationship.
You Get Your Report
You receive a written Surgical Strike Report with specific findings, documented leverage points, and a prioritized action plan. We schedule a follow-up call to walk you through the recommendations and answer every question.
Our client came to us after their franchisor failed to deliver on core support promises and encroached on their protected territory. Through the leverage points identified in our audit and a targeted negotiation strategy, we secured a full settlement in 90 days. No courtroom. No arbitration. Just leverage and a clear legal position. At Lopes Law LLC, this is what the right preparation makes possible.
Is the Surgical Strike Audit Right for You?
If any of these describe your situation, the audit will give you the clarity and leverage you need to take the next step.
You Want Out of Your Franchise
You are trapped in a bad agreement, the economics have changed, or the franchise is not what you were promised. You need to know what exit options actually exist and what they will cost you.
You Received a Termination Notice
The clock is ticking. You need to understand whether the termination is valid, what your cure rights are, and whether the franchisor followed proper procedures — before the deadline passes.
You Are in Financial Distress
Declining revenues, SBA loan default risk, or a franchise model that no longer works. You need to know your exposure, your workout options, and whether the franchisor’s conduct contributed to your losses.
You Are Considering Legal Action
Before you commit to arbitration or litigation, you need to know whether you have a case. The audit gives you an honest assessment of your legal position, the strength of your claims, and the realistic costs and timelines involved.
Multi-Brand Franchise Platform Experience: Horsepower Brands
Lopes Law LLC has direct litigation experience with Horsepower Brands, a multi-brand franchise platform operating seven sub-brands across home services. Our work with Horsepower Brands franchisees has given us deep insight into the unique risks these portfolio franchise models create: rapid brand acquisition, underdeveloped support systems, and franchisee obligations that shift as the parent company restructures.
If you are a franchisee of any multi-brand platform — Horsepower Brands, Empower Brands, Neighborly, Authority Brands, or others — our experience in this space is directly applicable to your situation.
Read our full analysis of Horsepower Brands franchise failures and SBA loan defaults.
Lopes Law helped us recover over $83,000 from our franchisor, without ever filing a lawsuit. They understood the franchise relationship better than any attorney we had spoken with. We felt protected from day one.
Anthony Lopes built the Surgical Strike Audit because he saw the same problem over and over: franchisees spending thousands of dollars and months of time before anyone gave them a straight answer about where they stood legally.
Before founding Lopes Law, he trained at Duane Morris LLP, one of the country’s largest law firms. He holds a J.D. from Temple University’s James E. Beasley School of Law and an LL.M. in Taxation. He represents both franchisors and franchisees, which means he knows exactly how the other side thinks, what they push for, and where their leverage actually ends.
The audit is designed to give you in five days what most attorneys take months to deliver: a clear picture of your legal position and a specific plan of action.
Alexis reviews franchise agreements and Franchise Disclosure Documents for the firm’s clients and walks clients through the firm’s findings on consultation calls.
Common Questions About the Franchise Exit Audit
Ready to Find Out Where You Really Stand?
Your first consultation is free. Bring your franchise agreement, your FDD, a description of the situation, or just the questions keeping you up at night. We will give you a straight assessment of whether the audit is right for your situation and what it is likely to reveal.
Reach out, we are friendly. No commitment. No pressure. A real conversation with an attorney who has handled these disputes from both sides.
145 Greenwood Ave, Suite 400 · Wyncote, PA 19095
Serving Clients Nationally
Request Your Audit
Free 20-minute consultation. We respond within one business day.
Message Received
Thank you! We will be in touch within one business day to schedule your free consultation.
Prefer to reach us directly? Call (267) 777-9117.