Tom Spadea is the founding partner of a boutique franchise and business law firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has been lead counsel for more than a dozen new franchise launches and has assisted franchisors and franchisees in private equity transactions, litigation, trademarks, partnerships, real estate and the myriad of other legal issues faced by franchisors and franchisees.
Mr. Spadea is also a founding member of the Philadelphia Franchise Association and it’s current President and Chairman. The Philadelphia Franchise Association holds quarterly networking and educational meetings bringing together all the stakeholders of franchising including franchisors, franchisees and suppliers.
Prior to law school at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mr. Spadea spent more then fifteen years in corporate and entrepreneurial positions. His undergraduate degree is in Finance from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he graduated Cum Laude. Mr. Spadea is a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE), a designation he earned in 2008 from the International Franchise Association. As an active member of the International Franchise Association he has been an invited speaker and panelist on multiple business and legal issues in franchising.
Mr. Spadea and his firm represent franchisees and franchisors from negotiating the contracts pertinent to the various transactions such as leases, Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDD) and asset purchase agreements to representing clients looking to resolve disputes when relationships don’t turn out as expected. Mr. Spadea brings a history of not just being a lawyer, but being an entrepreneur and corporate executive. This perspective allows him to not only vigorously defend his client’s legal rights, but also to never lose sight of their business goals.
Mr. Spadea’s corporate experience includes senior executive positions for multiple franchise concepts including Saladworks, a 100 store quick casual restaurant chain; The Huntington Learning Centers, a franchised chain of over 400 supplemental education centers; and Rita’s Water Ice, a 500 unit retail chain of franchised frozen dessert restaurants.
He got his start in the franchising industry as a Franchise and Business Broker for Sunbelt of Philadelphia, acting as an advisor to clients looking to transition into the ownership of a franchise or the purchase of an existing small business. As a business intermediary, Mr. Spadea handled dozens of transactions a year from listing businesses for sale, recruiting buyers, to negotiating transactions that satisfied all the stakeholders. Prior to Sunbelt, Mr. Spadea was the co-owner and President of LPB Communications, where he co-founded a factory in Latin America, successfully created an international sales network in Asia and invented a product for which he was granted a US Patent.