Carlie Smith practices Franchise, Trademark, and General Corporate Law. She has experience with franchising in range of industries, including Retail, Hospitality, Education, Home Services, Business Services, and Medical or similarly regulated professional services.
Carlie works with franchisors and franchisees to grow their brands and businesses by helping them to comply with state and federal franchise regulations and navigate corporate transactions. She often assists hospitality and restaurant brands in navigating the regulatory permitting process. She also advises clients with a broad range of growth strategies, from business opportunities, licensing, to franchising.
Leading the firm’s trademark practice, Carlie helps businesses to protect their intellectual property through obtaining federal and state trademark registrations, licensing, and monitoring of the marketplace for infringement. Carlie manages a portfolio of hundreds of trademarks, and she advises businesses about strategic growth of their intellectual property portfolios.
Her dedication extends beyond individual client work as she regularly shares her expertise through contributing to the Franchise Feed blog, discussing current issues and key points for franchise leaders. She also presents at the firm’s annual Franchise Success Summit and has led multiple Women’s Franchise Business Network discussions to educate her franchise clients.