Longmei Qiu
Associate Attorney
Lomgmei Qiu is an Associate Attorney at Motiva Business Law. She focuses her practice on the formation and operation of a wide variety of business entities, mergers and acquisitions, and compliance matters. Longmei also represents international clients in general corporate counseling and cross-border transactions matters.
Her experience includes assisting clients in forming various business entities and drafting contracts including operating agreements, joint-venture agreements, licensing and software agreements, employment agreements, buy-out agreements, distribution agreements, loan agreements, and more.
She further represents clients in the purchase and sale of businesses in various industries and levels of complexity.
Longmei received her J.D. from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, and her B.A from Michigan State University. Prior to private practice, Longmei finished her judicial clerkship at the First Judicial District Courts of Iowa in 2021. As a native Chinese, Longmei is fluent in Mandarin and understands Asian business culture.
Aside from work, Longmei enjoys traveling, adventurous eating, and marathon training.
Bar Admissions
- State of Illinois
Volunteer
- Chinese American Service League (CASL)
Illinois Attorney for Writing FDDs
Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDD for short) is a document required by franchisors to provide to franchisees when selling a franchise. An FDD has 23 categories of items that franchisors must disclose such as the franchisor’s business experience, past lawsuits, a list of manuals and procedures, costs of investment, and more.
Several states, including Illinois, require some form of registration of a franchisor’s FDD. However, a state’s approval of the FDD does not necessarily mean the FDD is legally compliant, a franchisor should not rely on the state registration process for legal validation.
The process of creating and finalizing the FDD and franchise agreement can take 3-6 months, depending on your particular situation. Working with a franchise attorney increases the chance that you can sell your franchise sooner and acquire profits faster.
Becoming a franchisor is a great way to grow a business quickly without having to invest in actual inventory, land, or other start-up costs. Rather, a franchise system allows a franchisor to sell the ideas and processes of a successful business model. Instead of investing more money to grow a business, a franchisor can even make money by selling the business model.
Once your FDD and franchise agreement are complete, you can sell your franchise and must give franchisees at least 14 days to make a decision.
If you sell your franchise without a FDD, you risk incurring thousands of dollars of penalties, having your franchise shut down, and not being able to sue your franchisees for any breach of their obligations.
Motiva Business Law helps franchisors, just like you, help you create your Federal Disclosure Documents (FDDs) and franchise agreements, and any other necessary documents you need for your franchise system. We serve businesses in Oak Brook, Hinsdale, Lombard, Burr Ridge, Naperville, and the greater Chicago area.
