Eleanor Vaida Gerhards serves as outside general corporate and franchise counsel to startup and established franchisors, helping clients launch, grow, and operate franchise brands in the United States and internationally. For more than 19 years, Eleanor has represented clients across a wide range of industries — including hospitality, restaurants and food service, fitness, health and wellness, retail, and consumer services — advising them on franchise development, expansion, and operations. Her experience includes drafting franchise disclosure documents and agreements and counseling franchisors on regulatory compliance, state registration, and exemption matters. Designated a Certified Franchise Executive by the International Franchise Association, Eleanor combines legal counsel with a deep understanding of the business of franchising, including delivering franchise sales compliance training to C-suite executives and marketing teams.

Eleanor advises clients on the full lifecycle of franchise growth, including acquisitions and divestitures of franchise businesses; negotiating supply chain agreements and vendor relationships; creating advertising funds; converting licensing, subscription, and distribution models into franchise systems; and structuring master franchise, multi-unit licensing, and area development arrangements. Eleanor also advises on cross-border franchise matters, guiding foreign brands entering the U.S. market and coordinating with international counsel on the expansion of domestic brands abroad.

In addition, Eleanor counsels franchisors on alternative risk management strategies for franchise systems and their franchisees, including risk retention groups, captive insurance programs, and risk purchasing groups. She has also served as a franchise law expert witness, providing expert testimony on behalf of the franchisor in a nine-figure arbitration proceeding.

A dedicated advocate for the advancement of women in franchising, Eleanor played an instrumental role in the 2018 relaunch of the International Franchise Association's Philadelphia Women's Franchise Network and currently serves as its chair. She is also committed to pro bono service, representing local nonprofits in business and corporate matters, preparing free basic estate planning documents for first responders — including police, firefighters, and paramedics — through the Wills for Heroes program, and successfully arguing before the New Jersey State Parole Board for the release of an indigent client imprisoned for a parole violation.