Reviews

Jim Meaney with Zanio is one of the best attorneys I have ever worked with. He is instrumental in helping me franchise my business. Extremely knowledgeable, experienced, and will set you right if you get off track. I can't thank him enough for everything he has done!

A professional attorney and great experience.

Tom Zaino was wonderful to work with. I had some issues with RITA and had a hard time finding an attorney knowledgeable in that area. He made me feel confident that we could find a quick and fair resolution. I would definitely recommend him to anyone who needs tax law assistance!

Great law firm and nice people!

Our firm has consulted with Steve Hood. He is very knowledgeable and professional we would be happy to work with him again.

Jim helped my wife and I navigate a franchise in Ohio. Along with assisting us with the purchase of our building. Jim has extensive knowledge in Franchising and was spot on throughout the whole process. We would recommend Jim for any of your needs as he had a network of resources in addition to his knowledge and experience.

My husband and I reached out to Mr Meaney as we were going through the process of researching franchise opportunities a little over a year ago. Having never owned a business before, we were looking for all the expert advice we could get and Jim had plenty to share. We were very excited about an opportunity we found and asked Jim to review the FDD. He was not only quick getting back to us but very honest. He called me and explained that he was only an hour or so into the review but didn't feel comfortable with what he was seeing. He wanted to check on my commitment level to this particular franchise before he spent more time (and money) on the review. I asked him to continue, in my eyes this was a perfect fit for me and my family. Jim continued the review. He called me a short time later with a lot of feedback, most of it concerning. He was very honest and made sure that I understood why he was extremely hesitant for us to continue discussions with that company. He knew he was bursting my bubble, but he was pretty sure that it would be a bad decision to purchase that franchise. After getting over the disappointment and reminding myself that we were relying on him as an expert and therefor should probably follow his advice, we resumed the hunt. In the end we found something even better, Jim agreed after his review, and we couldn't be happier with our decision. Without his honest feedback we would have made a bad investment and who knows what we would be going through right now. I would highly recommend Jim to anyone considering a franchise opportunity.

Jim's knowledge and handling of franchise law is second to none. He may be the best attorney I have worked with in any capacity not just franchise law. Actually, this may be the first review I have posted regarding anything, I simply think it should be known how good he actually is.

I consulted with Jim when I, as a franchisee, had a dispute with a large international franchisor that was rumored to strenuously fight claims against them. Thanks to Jim's good work, especially the protections for franchisees in Ohio R.C. Chapter 1334 that he helped get enacted, the franchisor was convinced to come to the table and agree to an equitable resolution.

I would highly recommend Mr. Meaney for any prospective franchisees considering investing in a franchise or a new or existing franchisor. Jim has been involved with the franchise industry for over thirty years and also has experience "in the trenches" as former General Counsel and VP of Franchise Sales for a large franchisor. Working for a smaller, boutique law firm, Jim does most of his own work and the value provided is tremendous. I've worked with big law firms in the past and generally have the partner sell me on the firm with a junior associate with little experience or a paralegal do most of the legal work with very little oversight by the attorney who attracted me to the firm to begin with. The billing is 100% transparent and Mr. Meaney's fees are a bargain at around 50-60% of what franchise attorneys at the big name law firms charge with much less experience in franchising. Also, he is the most responsive attorney I've ever worked with, he always returns phone calls the same day, which I can't say for most law firms I've worked with. And finally, he really tries to add value to his clients through his vast network of franchise industry contacts. I am the founder and CEO of an emerging franchise network and looked for a great franchise attorney for almost two years before I engaged Mr. Meaney's service and wish I would have met him sooner.

For the past two years Jim has helped us prepare updates to our Federal Disclosure Document, Franchise Agreement and filed the necessary State Registrations for our two franchise concepts. His work is excellent, timely and reasonably priced. I would not hesitate to recommend Jim for your legal needs.