Rose Marie Perdomo

Rose M. Perdomo is a corporate attorney in Holland & Knight's Orlando office with significant experience advising on franchise, commercial real estate and contractual matters. She has provided legal advice as in-house and outside counsel to prospective franchisees acquiring a franchise business, entities purchasing a franchise system and franchisors ranging from startups to established global multi-unit brands.

Ms. Perdomo provides comprehensive legal services to a broad range of franchise clients, including with respect to contract enforcement, relationship disputes, terminations, transfers, trademark protection and implementation of system-wide changes. She assists with organizing and structuring new franchise and distribution systems, drafting, preparing, reviewing and filing Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs) and related agreements, such as franchise and development agreements, in compliance with state franchise sales and relationship laws.

In addition, Ms. Perdomo's experience includes advising businesses with company-operated units, addressing real estate, employment and risk-related matters. She provides strategic guidance to franchisors throughout the acquisition of franchise units and divestiture of company-owned and operated units. She offers in-depth legal analysis of complex real estate transactions and sale-leaseback arrangements and is adept at negotiating complex commercial contracts with both global and local vendors across the food, paper, packaging, equipment and service sectors.

Ms. Perdomo provides strategic legal counsel to private equity firms and institutional investors, guiding them through comprehensive due diligence processes for franchise system acquisitions. Her experience extends to evaluating complex financial structures, including significant securitization of debt transactions, ensuring clients are well-informed of potential risks and opportunities. Notably, Ms. Perdomo played a key role in the initial public offering (IPO) of a major global fast food restaurant chain, where her legal acumen contributed to the successful execution of a high-profile transaction in the franchise sector.

Ms. Perdomo also brings valuable in-house experience in labor and employment matters, having spent nearly two years overseeing human resource (HR) compliance for a hibachi-style Japanese steakhouse brand. In that role, Ms. Perdomo investigated employee and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaints, collaborated with HR on employment claims and managed updates to the company's employee handbook. She also advised on wage and tip regulations to ensure timely compliance with state requirements for company-operated restaurants.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Perdomo served as in-house counsel for two global fast food restaurant chains, as well as outside counsel representing multiple global brands.