Thomas (“Tom”) O’Connell is a Shareholder at Buchalter APC, where he chairs the firm’s Franchise Law and e-Discovery Practice Groups and previously served as Chair of Litigation for the San Diego office. His national practice spans complex business and employment litigation as well as sophisticated franchise advisory services. Tom is a Certified Franchise Executive™ and a recognized authority on regulatory compliance, system enforcement, and legal strategy for emerging and established brands.
Franchise Structuring and Strategic Counsel
Tom maintains a nationally respected franchise advisory practice, working closely with founders, executives, and development teams to build, refine, and scale franchise systems. When drafting Franchise Disclosure Documents and franchise agreements—including single-unit, multi-unit, area development, and master franchise agreements—his focus is always on clarity, enforceability, and alignment with the franchisor’s short- and long-term goals. Tom views each document as an opportunity to help franchisors articulate, protect, and grow their business models. There is nothing that brings Tom more pleasure than seeing one of the brands he represents flourish.
Beyond initial drafting, Tom advises franchisors on state registration, vendor and supply chain structuring, marketing and operations compliance, and international expansion. He also counsels multi-unit franchisees and private equity groups investing in franchise systems, with a particular focus on joint employment, vicarious liability, and system-wide risk exposure.
Tom is a frequent speaker at national franchise events and a regular contributor to industry publications and news outlets. Tom doggedly follows franchise-related legal developments and routinely publishes thoughtful, thorough, and timely articles analyzing new decisions and what they mean for franchisors, franchisees, and the broader franchise model. His insights have been quoted in Bloomberg Law, Reuters, the New York Law Journal, 1851 Franchise, and other outlets.
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Tom represents franchisors, private companies, and public entities in complex litigation, arbitration, and regulatory proceedings across the country. His litigation practice spans a wide range of disputes, from brand-threatening franchise claims to multimillion-dollar employment and commercial cases.
In the franchise context, Tom has defended claims involving wrongful termination, fraud, encroachment, failure to provide required training and support, nonrenewal, and vendor rebate disputes. He also handles joint employer and misclassification claims, including his defense of franchisees in the largest joint employer case ever adjudicated by the National Labor Relations Board.
Tom defends employers in cases involving allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower violations, and hostile work environments. He is particularly experienced in managing plaintiff and high-exposure disputes, including those involving sensitive fact patterns and reputational risk.
He also has extensive appellate experience, with both published and unpublished decisions addressing employee classification, due process, public entity immunity, and employer intent. His work on appeal is often an extension of his trial strategy, aimed at preserving favorable results or correcting adverse ones in cases with broader business or industry implications.
In addition to courtroom advocacy, Tom is often brought in at the pre-litigation or investigative stage to shape litigation strategy, manage internal employment investigations for public and private entities, respond to government inquiries, or pursue or defend emergency injunctive relief. His approach is grounded in clarity, efficiency, and long-term brand protection.