Corcoran’s Role Includes Serving as Chief Legal Counsel
Marco’s Pizza has promoted Kristin Corcoran to senior vice president and chief legal counsel. Corcoran joined the Marco\’s team in 2022 as vice president of corporate counsel. In the new role, she works to ensure legal and regulatory compliance and establish systems to support multi-unit owner growth, negotiate non-traditional development agreements, and explore international models of expansion. Joining her on the leadership team are COO John Meyers, Senior Vice President of Digital Marketing Ben Halliwell, Vice President of Brand Marketing Tanisha Chea and Director of Culinary Innovation Kathleen Kennedy.
Corcoran said she looks forward to providing the entire Marco’s team with support on new initiatives and development goals. “Marco’s continues to develop and expand, and I am excited to be a part of it.”
Tony Libardi, co-CEO and president of Marco\’s Pizza, said he couldn’t be more thrilled to see Corcoran take on this new challenge. “Kristin\’s legal expertise has made a profound impact on Marco\’s throughout her time with the brand. Her leadership, knowledge and contributions have been instrumental as we roll out new initiatives that benefit both our franchisees and customers,” he said. “She has been a tremendous asset and addition to our executive team, and I look forward to seeing her continue to bring invaluable experience and perspective as we embark on our next era of growth.”
Corcoran, a self-proclaimed “puzzle solver,” said she has an intense interest in learning the inner workings of a business to assess any potential issues or challenges. “Franchise law in itself is its own unique puzzle that requires someone who is intellectually curious and nimble.”
Prior to joining Marco’s Pizza, Corcoran was of counsel to DLA Piper, providing advice and consultation on commercial and transactional domestic and international franchise matters. She previously served as co-founding partner of Appleby & Corcoran LLC supporting businesses and franchise concepts seeking to expand domestically and internationally, and as senior associate general counsel with Subway. She received her law degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law.
Navigating the Legal Landscape
Corcoran said she has enjoyed assisting franchisors in navigating the legal landscape. “This is not only encompassed in drafting disclosure documents and template agreements; it also involves matters associated with all aspects of the business. For example, leaning into new technologies, supporting development initiatives, and addressing a myriad of topics from advertising and marketing to supply chain,” she said. “In franchising, the legal role is dynamic, and I like to look at all of these various legal issues with a wide lens.”
Corcoran’s advice to franchisors and franchisees seeking quality legal counsel is to focus on franchise lawyers who have a fundamental understanding of the business they are serving. She added that any in-house lawyers should be intricately involved with their franchise organization as one team focused on the brand’s success.
“Rather than being narrow and focusing on the legal task at hand, franchise law requires practitioners to take a step back and examine all angles and facets, including assessing, managing and mitigating risk while ensuring compliance with the law,” she said. “This requires franchise lawyers to be completely engrained in strategic initiatives, product announcements, operational matters and more. Once there is a clear picture of the goals and needs of an organization, then franchise lawyers will draft and negotiate agreements and other supporting documents.”
Establishing trust between franchisees and franchisors and their legal counsel also is critical, Corcoran said. “Legal counsel is there to be your trusted confidant and advisor to navigate the best deals and opportunities for your business.”
In the food and beverage industry in particular, Corcoran noted that every brand faces distinct challenges that are unique to their business models. “While there are some overarching industry challenges and distinctions, generally, franchises do not share the same objectives, structure or organization. You will find that as many franchises as there are, there are an equal number of qualified legal professionals with differing areas of focus.”
