Lagarias, Napell & Dillon, LLP

Franchisee-side work across California

The firm represents individual franchisees and franchisee associations. Lagarias, Napell & Dillon, LLP has offices in San Rafael and Burbank. The firm states that it serves clients throughout California.

Franchise law is the main subject of the firm's website. Its services cover franchise documents, ownership changes and disputes. The attorney profiles describe work for franchisees in both transactions and contested matters.

In my opinion, the clearest evidence of the firm's focus is the link between its listed services and the experience described for each attorney. The website names the legal issues the attorneys have handled. It also identifies the roles they have held within the firm.

Contract and ownership services

The website names Franchise Disclosure Document review and franchise agreement negotiation as separate services. Bryan W. Dillon handles FDD review and negotiations as part of his transactional work. He also advises on entity formation and general business law.

Disclosure documents and agreements

The firm reviews FDDs for franchisees. It also negotiates franchise agreements. These services address the written documents that define the franchise relationship.

Agreement work extends to renewals and terminations. The firm also handles disputes over those events when litigation or arbitration arises. This combination places document review and contract disputes within the same stated field of work.

Business formation and ownership changes

The firm handles business formation and buy-sell agreements. Its service list also includes franchise transfers and sales. These matters concern the creation of a business entity and later changes in ownership.

Bruce J. Napell has represented franchisees in the purchase and sale of businesses. His work also includes lease negotiations. The profile gives specific examples of the transactional matters he handled for franchise owners.

Bryan Dillon's profile adds employment law to the firm's business services. The website states that the firm handles employment matters for California clients. General business law is another named part of Dillon's work.

Litigation, arbitration and franchise claims

The firm represents franchisees in litigation and arbitration. The attorney profiles describe experience in both forums. They also identify franchise and business disputes as recurring parts of the attorneys' work.

Claims identified by the firm

The listed claims include fraud, unfair trade practices and breach of contract. The firm also handles termination, renewal and territorial encroachment matters. Peter C. Lagarias has worked on fraud claims and statutory claims involving franchisees.

Territorial encroachment appears in both the firm's service list and Lagarias's case history. Termination and renewal claims receive the same specific treatment. The website therefore gives concrete subjects for the firm's dispute work.

The firm's services also include franchise transfers and sales when those matters require legal help. Franchise agreement disputes may proceed through litigation or arbitration. The site presents these forums as established parts of the firm's work.

Experience in contested proceedings

Peter Lagarias personally handled hundreds of franchisee cases during his career. Those cases included contract claims, fraud matters and disputes over franchise territories. He handled franchise disputes at trial and in arbitration.

Several matters handled by Lagarias resulted in appellate decisions for franchisees. The website identifies that appellate history without giving settlement figures or broad outcome claims. It is a specific part of the professional record presented for the founder.

Bryan Dillon focuses his work on litigation. He also handles the transactional matters described on his profile. That mix connects his dispute work with FDD review, negotiations and business formation.

Bruce Napell litigated and arbitrated franchise and business cases. He also defended franchisees in suits brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act. That work adds a distinct type of defense matter to the firm's stated case experience.

The named attorneys and their roles

The website profiles founder Peter C. Lagarias and partners Bryan W. Dillon and Bruce J. Napell. Each profile identifies a different career history. Together, the profiles explain how franchise representation developed within the firm.

Peter C. Lagarias

Peter Lagarias founded the firm and began private law work in 1982. His profile centers on franchisee disputes. It names fraud, statutory claims, breach of contract, encroachment, termination and renewal.

Lagarias handled cases in trial courts and arbitration proceedings. His stated case history includes hundreds of matters for franchisees. Several of those disputes reached the appellate level.

The firm reports that Lagarias retired on May 1, 2025. His retirement followed more than four decades after the start of his private law work. The website still identifies him as the founder.

Bryan W. Dillon

Bryan Dillon has represented franchisees for more than 25 years.The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization has certified him in Franchise and Distribution Law. The website presents that certification with his attorney profile.

Dillon's main focus is litigation. His work also covers entity formation, contract review and contract negotiations. Employment law and general business law appear in his profile as well.

His transactional work includes the review of Franchise Disclosure Documents. The profile also connects him with negotiations over franchise contracts. Those duties match the franchise agreement services listed elsewhere on the website.

Bruce J. Napell

Bruce Napell practiced law for more than 34 years. During the last twenty years of that period, he represented franchisees almost exclusively. His profile covers both disputed cases and business transactions.

Napell litigated and arbitrated franchise and business matters. He defended franchisees in Americans with Disabilities Act suits. He also advised on business purchases, business sales and lease negotiations.

The firm reports that Napell retired on February 1, 2025. His retirement came ten years after he merged his legal work into the firm. The website continues to identify his former role as partner.

Development since 1982 and the stated merger

Peter Lagarias began the legal work that led to the firm in 1982. The office operated in San Francisco's financial district before its relocation. In 1996, the office moved to San Rafael.

How the partnership developed

Bruce Napell merged his legal work into the firm in 2015. Bryan Dillon followed with a merger in 2019. That 2019 event formed Lagarias, Napell & Dillon, LLP under its stated name.

The merger history joins three attorneys with long records in franchisee representation. Lagarias contributed his case history dating to 1982. Napell and Dillon brought the experience described in their profiles.

The 2025 transition

Two retirements changed the firm's attorney structure in 2025. Bruce Napell retired on February 1, and Peter Lagarias retired on May 1. The dates appear in the firm's account of its transition.

The website states that the firm is merging with Luther Lanard PC following those retirements. It connects that merger directly with the departures of Napell and Lagarias. Luther Lanard PC is the firm named in the merger statement.