Attorney Biography
Rodney Hatter
Pati Stoop
RODNEY R. HATTER PROFILE
Rod Hatter is an experienced franchise law and small business attorney. He has been an attorney in private practice in Orange County, California since 1985.
He has specialized in providing legal services to franchisors, franchise owners and other businesses of small to medium size. His legal skills and experience cover nearly all areas of business law, with an emphasis on franchising but including purchase and sale of business (“mergers and acquisitions”), securities, employment contracts and formation of corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and other business entities. He is often called as an expert witness on franchise matters.
Rod is committed to the practice of law and to the development of laws that foster productive interaction between businesses and state and federal governments. He has been appointed to the California State Bar Franchise Law Committee for three separate terms, with his most recent term ending in 2013. He recently headed the State Bar's approval of Franchises and Distribution as a board certified specialty. He served as Chair of the State Bar Franchise & Distribution Law Advisory Commission, which prepares the exams and approves candidates for this specialty. This means that the public can go to the State Bar website (calbar.ca.gov) and find a board certified specialist in this area who has been approved for experience and knowledge in this specialty.
On a national level, Rod has been an active member of the American Bar Association Forum Committee on Franchising since 1979 and he joined the Legal-Legislative Committee of the International Franchise Association since 1977; he speaks about franchising and other distribution methods at various bar association meetings and to other groups and has a good working relationship representing his clients to the California Department of Corporations.
His goal is always to minimize legal costs to clients, first by writing clear and simply stated documents which all parties understand and second by communicating effectively with client adversaries to keep all issues on track and avoid unnecessary confrontations. On the other hand, he has a reputation for taking tough stands and fighting for his clients.
Professional History
From 1978 through 1985, Rod was General Counsel for Taco Bell Corp., which is now California's largest and most successful franchisor, thanks in part to Rod's role in establishing its current franchise program in 1981. Taco Bell was then owned by PepsiCo, Inc., and Rod also acted as PepsiCo's West Coast Area Counsel, handling the legal needs of various other divisions and subsidiaries in this area.
From 1976 through 1978, Rod was the Senior Associate Counsel for Pizza Hut, where he was responsible for its franchise program and franchisee issues, SEC and NYSE compliance, international franchising and various special projects, including the sale of Pizza Hut to PepsiCo, Inc. in 1977.
He was initially trained as a young lawyer at the well known law firm of Dewey, Ballantine in New York City, where he specialized in securities laws and initial public offerings and worked with Presidential Candidate Tom Dewey.
Having been raised in Kansas, he subsequently moved to Wichita, Kansas, where he became a partner in the Foulston Siefkin law firm, the largest firm in the state. One of his law firm clients, Pizza Hut, persuaded him to become its inside counsel and a corporate officer in 1976, not long before PepsiCo, Inc. purchased Pizza Hut. PepsiCo’s Law Department moved Rod and his family to Orange County, California, in 1978, and they settled in the Laguna Niguel area.
Personal History
Upon graduation from high school in a small Kansas town, Rod was selected to be one of five Alfred P. Sloan Scholars at Harvard University, the highest honor given to incoming Harvard freshmen. He graduated from Harvard in 1966 with honors. Rod then received a scholarship which allowed him to attend Columbia University School of Law in New York City. The focus of his studies was securities, and after he received his J.D. degree from Columbia Law School in 1969, Rod went to work immediately on Wall Street. After several years of intensive securities work, he left New York and returned to Kansas to begin his work with smaller businesses.
Rod is married and has two adult sons from a prior marriage. He is a co-owner with one of his sons who is engaged in a franchised business in the San Diego area. He is the proud grandfather of five grand children and hoping for more grandchildren.
His passion beyond his family is motorcycle riding. Rod returned to this hobby in 1987 when he bought a limited edition Kawasaki Ninja, and he now owns a Harley Davidson Road King and a Honda Valkyrie. He tries to ride each week end and makes several road trips each year. In between, he spends a lot of time polishing chrome.
In 2006, Rod acquired even more to polish with the purchase of a rare 1949 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn, which happens to be the 12th "complete" Rolls-Royce ever made and is in beautiful condition. It received a trophy for best in its class at the first car show Rod entered it in and has become fairly well known on Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach. It is not a fancy motorcar but certainly has character.
Community Activities
Rod has also been active in various charitable and service organizations. After the move to California, he and his sons became involved with the local YMCA, where Rod later became its Board Chair. He then became a member of the Orange County Metro Board of Directors and acted as Chairman of its Branch Development Committee.
After leaving corporate life and no longer traveling as much, Rod joined the Laguna Niguel Rotary Club, where he became President of the Laguna Niguel Rotary Club and is the founder of its charitable Foundation. He us currently a member of the Rotary Club of Laguna Beach.
Rod was also one of the founders of the World Kids Foundation, which was organized to assist children who live in less fortunate countries, and was a co-founder in 2006 of the Golden Angels Foundation, which raised funds for local charities and needy individuals in the Orange County area.
One of his annual pleasures is interviewing local high school seniors who have applied to Harvard, young people with outstanding accomplishments already and great opportunities for the future.
PATI STOOP
Pati received her Juris Doctorate from The University of Willamette School of Law. She graduated from the Virginia Tech, where she earned her degree in Political Science and was a member of the Virginia Tech Honor Court.
Pati is a transactional lawyer who concentrates her practice on franchise and licensing law, commercial transactions and general corporate work. She has counseled and prepared franchise documentation for franchisors in a variety of industries. Pati's work in this area includes drafting domestic franchise disclosure documents, franchise agreements, area development agreements, multi-unit development agreements, licensing agreements and similar documents. She has extensive experience assisting clients with state franchise registrations and counseling clients on federal and state franchise law compliance.
Pati is current member of several franchise industry groups including ABA Forum on Franchising. She was admitted to practice law in the state of California in 1991.
Pati's past experience includes 5 years working for Adobe Systems, Inc. as a marketing manager, where she created marketing programs and demand generation initiatives for product seminars, field marketing events, trade shows and eSeminars.
California Franchise Attorneys
Newport Beach, California, Franchise LawyersWe provide at an affordable cost the most experienced, trained and well-educated franchise attorney services you can find anywhere in the United States. Our legal services are always personal, full of common sense and to the point. We will tell you in advance what it will cost. No nonsense.
The law offices of Rodney R. Hatter & Associates were established in 1985 and are located in Orange County, California. We are licensed to practice law in the State of California, but our clients have headquarters on both coasts and many places in between. Our Southern California business clients come from San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Ventura counties to utilize our services because of our dedicated and singularly-focused services delivery.
Franchise Law is our specialty, and that involves assistance in many areas needed by small businesses.
We help both Franchisors and Franchisees.
We develop new franchise sales programs for franchisors, including Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs), franchise agreements and development agreements and registering the new program.
We help entrepreneurs buy a franchise, and we help franchisees with problems.
We form new corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships.
We file trademark applications.
We draft contracts for all purposes: confidentiality (nondisclosure) agreements, employment agreements, operating agreements, lease agreements, purchase agreements, sale agreements, financing agreements, settlement agreements, technology licenses and other agreements.
We work on private placements and securities law filings.
We can also help you with estate planning and living trusts.
We are well known for helping establish new franchise programs. Our experience has shown us how to set up a franchise program that is up to date and different from the usual new franchise program. First, we develop a step by step process which is simple, direct and highlights the most important details and issues. Our documents are always "in plain English" and easy to read and to understand. They are also better balanced to protect all parties' rights and clarify everyone's obligations. In short, they don't frighten away prospects.
Then we add thirty-five plus years of experience at preventing problems and answering questions which are familiar to us but confusion to merely all others. This and more are part of our lump sum new franchise package.
While we are not a large firm, we provide all of the legal advice and assistance you will need for your legal problem. If it involves litigation or another specialty, we know who to call because our many years of experience allow us to "associate" with the best and avoid the rest.
We charge substantially less than most other lawyers who have had similar experience and expertise. And we don’t double charge you for more than one attorney at a time. Large firms often charge hourly as much as $600 or more for the partner and over $300 for other lawyers, plus $150 for paralegals, all of which can easily be over $1,000 per hour! We see this too often done by large firms.
We are able to keep our hourly rate under $400 because the work is not delegated to other attorneys or paralegals who must be managed. Very few clients have ever complained about our billings. We appreciate that, and we believe that is because we assist our clients in improving their bottom line. Even with our legal fees factored in, our clients are profiting. This is the Rodney R. Hatter & Associates ultimate commitment.
One Newport Place
1301 Dove Street, Ste 900
Newport Beach, CA 92660
920 Glenneyre, Suite A
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
source : www.californiafranchiseattorney.com/