Lani Binnie

Experience

Lani Binnie is a partner at Plave Koch with more than a decade of in-house franchising legal experience. She advises franchisors on franchise operations, regulatory compliance, transactions, governance, risk management, and system growth. Having worked closely with executive leadership throughout her career, Lani brings a practical, business-oriented perspective to legal strategy and a strong understanding of the operational considerations involved in growing and managing franchise systems.

Prior to joining Plave Koch, Lani served as Assistant General Counsel at a parent company of 15 home service brands which operate more than 2,700 locations across the United States. There she advised executive leadership on franchise relationships, regulatory compliance, critical transactions, building a private-equity franchisee model, franchise development, governance and enterprise risk management. During her tenure, the portfolio expanded from seven brands to 15 through organic growth and acquisitions. Lani advised on M&A strategy, including acquisitions and divestures, and helped develop standardized legal, compliance and operational frameworks to support the integration of newly acquired brands.

Her experience includes serving as the primary franchise regulatory counsel, overseeing Franchise Disclosure Document strategy and execution, including annual updates and amendments, state registrations and renewals, coordination with business teams and outside counsel, and integration of newly acquired brands into an established infrastructure. She also developed a uniform FDD and Franchise Agreement and implemented processes to improve consistency, efficiency and communication across departments.

Earlier in her career, Lani served as Corporate Counsel at Paul Davis Restoration, where she was the primary counsel for a system with more than 300 U.S. franchise locations. Lani began her legal career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where she served as Employee Operations and Compliance Counsel.

Bar Admissions

• Washington

Professional Associations

• American Bar Association, Forum on Franchising
• Washington State Bar Association
• American Bar Association