---
title: "Brian Schnell"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/4d1e98a3-5ddd-4354-a458-fc6930ff7b2e
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/franchise-legal-player-awards-qa-with-brian-schnell-2703467
category: "Regulation"
topics: ["Regulation & legal"]
published: 2017-08-11T13:08:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:11:11.073Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/6692680804eef5ab8f5b881f8af221fe8812.jpg
---

# Brian Schnell

**TL;DR:** Franchise lawyer Brian Schnell discusses the principles of successful franchising. Schnell's career in franchising began with a project for Dairy Queen on his first day as a lawyer.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2017-08-11. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/franchise-legal-player-awards-qa-with-brian-schnell-2703467).*

## Story

Our objective is to make a difference for franchisors—to help them identify new opportunities and overcome challenges at every stage of growth. Our passion for franchising, our nearly 250 years of collective experience and our teamwork approach distinguish us from other law firms and help us accomplish that objective. We focus on desired outcomes for our clients and then get results.

**Schnell**: Pure luck. My very first project on my very first day as a lawyer (Sept. 8, 1987) was for Dairy Queen. I never looked back. Every single day of my professional career has been in franchising.

**Schnell**: I love that franchising is all about attitude, collaboration and unit-level economics. In order for a franchise system to be sustainable, the franchisor must create and promote through collaborative leadership a franchise system where all stakeholders have an undying devotion to the brand. With those principles any system can be successful regardless of the product or service. That’s the beauty of franchising.

**Schnell**: A great client understands the need to balance the interests of the franchisor, the franchisees and the system as a whole and includes their franchise attorney as one of the key voices in their decision-making process in leading the brand.

**Schnell**: A great franchise attorney understands all the nuances of franchising and the multi-faceted dynamics of the franchise relationships and how those factor into helping clients grow, protect and evolve their brands. She or he needs a passion for franchising with the ability to proactively help the client find creative solutions to get to the desired outcome.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- General (sector)
- Dairy Queen (company)
- franchise law (topic)
- unit level economics (topic)
- Brian Schnell (person)
- franchising principles (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/franchise-legal-player-awards-qa-with-brian-schnell-2703467). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/4d1e98a3-5ddd-4354-a458-fc6930ff7b2e).