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Peter Lagarias is a franchise attorney based in San Francisco, California. He works with franchise owners and franchisee groups who are dealing with difficult disputes, system conflicts, or major turning points in their businesses. With decades of experience, he brings a steady and thoughtful approach to situations that often feel overwhelming for the people involved.
His work has long focused on helping franchisees address breakdowns in their relationship with a brand. In practice, this often means sorting through disagreements about territory, renewals, exits, or fairness within a system. Clients tend to experience him as measured and direct. He listens carefully, explains things in plain language, and helps people slow down enough to see their options clearly before deciding what comes next.
Earlier in his career, he worked on franchise matters at a national level, including serving as lead counsel on an early federal case that helped shape how franchise relationships are regulated. Over time, he went on to represent franchisees across California and beyond, gaining a deep understanding of how large systems operate and where they can fail the people who invest in them. He also spent years advising regulators and teaching franchise law as an adjunct professor, sharing practical insight drawn from real experience rather than theory. This background has shaped a perspective that is grounded, realistic, and focused on how issues play out in everyday business life.
Outside the office, he enjoys traveling with his wife and staying active through swimming and hiking.
Bar Admissions:
- California State Court
- U.S. District Court Central District of California
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court Southern District of California
Education:
- University of California, San Francisco School of Law, J.D.
- University of California, Berkeley, B.A.
Awards & Recognitions:
- Franchise Times Legal Eagle
- Super Lawyer
- Martindale Hubbel AV Preeminent
Speaking/Publications:
- BridgeFund Capital Corp v. Fastbacks Franchise Corp., 622 F.3d 996 (9th Cir. 2010).
- Bencharsky v. Cottman Transmission Systems, LLC, 625 F.Supp. 2d 872 (N.D. Cal. 2008)
- FTC v. H.N. Singer, 534 F.Supp. 24 (N.D. Cal. 1981) affd. 668 F.2d 1107 (Ninth Cir. 1982)
- Husain v. McDonald’s, 205 Cal.App.4th 860, 140 C.R. 3d 3-70 (2012)
- Independent Association of Mailbox Center Owners v. Superior Court, 133 Cal.App. 4th 396 (2005)
Fun Facts:
- Both of Lagarias’ brothers are professors (one of Mathematics and the other of Biochemistry). Lagarias joined their ranks as an adjunct law professor teaching franchise law most recently at the University of San Francisco – Law (formerly Hastings College of the Law).
- While the President of the Rotary Club of San Francisco in 1992, Lagarias co-founded Rotaplast, an organization which provides free cleft lip and palate surgery to children in need around the world for over thirty years. He remains involved in their work to this day.
- Lagarias and his family travel to Greece frequently and like to stay at the Lagaria Hotel in Halkidiki, operated by his cousins.
- Lagarias is Chair of the Nikos Kazantzakis Society of Northern California; think Zorba the Greek.