SUMMARY

Experienced general counsel and expert franchise lawyer with strong franchise and restaurant business acumen. Deep experience with franchise disclosure and regulatory compliance, asset and stock transfers of franchised restaurants, and franchise dispute resolution and litigation management. Ten plus years’ experience with corporate governance, contract negotiation and formation, lease negotiations, intellectual property portfolio management, financial restructuring, and franchisee compliance and terminations.  In addition to ten years’ serving as a restaurant franchisor general counsel, Bud co-chaired the franchise and distribution team of a respected franchise law firm, and he tried franchise cases for more than ten years.  Bud's experience and education allow him to work both cross departmentally and across the table to solve his client's problems so they can succeed.

CULP LEGAL, FRANCHISE & BUSINESS CONSULTING LLC – TAMPA, FL 

President - 2025

• Serve as interim counsel for a large franchisee of Taco Bell restaurants along with Five Guys and other branded restaurant airport concessions, charged with creating and implementing all aspects of corporate and restaurant compliance.

THE MELTING POT RESTAURANTS, INC. – TAMPA, FL 

Chief Legal & Business Officer - 2024

• Completed stock for stock statutory merger of my then employer, Front Burner Brands, Inc., into The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc., the franchisor of the Melting Pot® fondue restaurant brand.

FRONT BURNER BRANDS, INC. – TAMPA, FL 

General Counsel & Chief Business Officer  2014 – 2024

• Managed a full-service restaurant franchisor through the Covid pandemic leaving it intact and more profitable by negotiating and teaching franchisees to negotiate their  leases to reduce or eliminate rent during restaurant shutdowns and restrictions. 
• Reacquired Melting Pot distribution rights for Mexico.
• Formed and led a cross-departmental System Health team to identify and help struggling restaurants for which I was promoted to chief business officer in addition to the company’s chief legal officer.
• Designed original version of system wide balanced scorecard allowing company and each franchisee to track key restaurant business metrics including prime costs, social reviews, and financial results. 
• Drafted and completed transaction forming joint venture for newly developed quick service restaurant.
• Drafted and completed multiple restaurant bulk asset purchase and share/membership transactions.
• Hired as first general counsel and reduced companywide legal spend by 53% in my first full year of employment and brought FDD, state registration, and M&A in house.
• Resolved nationwide wage and hour class action litigation for no monetary consideration.
• Settled multi-million-dollar Canadian litigation for less than 2 percent of amount at issue.

President 2013 – 2014

• Drafted and revised multiple FDD franchisor investment prospectuses.
• Brokered settlement of long running litigation between client and the nation’s largest craft supply store.

Partner, Co-Chairman Franchise & Distribution Section 2009 –2012

• Drafted UFOC franchise prospectus and led nationwide roll-out of dental franchise opportunity.
• Litigated and settled two multi-million-dollar lawsuits involving: (a) a United States real property management franchise, and (b) a Canadian yoga apparel franchisor and retailer.

Vice President & Assistant General Counsel 2007 –2008

• Promoted to chief counsel supporting and advising Quiznos Canada, the company's top international division by sales volume and led effort to resolve two pending Canadian class actions.
• Managed worldwide litigation reducing class actions from eleven to six and cut overall litigation by half.
• Created and led cross-departmental team to mitigate competitive threat to U.S. business model resulting in modification of U.S. franchise agreements and supplier/distribution agreements.

Partner 1996 –2006

• Franchisor Litigation – tried and arbitrated multiple lawsuits for Quiznos, including Seven-Eleven Hampden v. Quiznos Sub, 97-CV-6769, winning summary judgment against a Seven-Eleven location.
• Franchisee Litigation included:
• Masri v. Big O Tires, won bench trial involving eleven franchises in Detroit, Michigan, and
• Factual Data - Southern California v. Kroll Factual Data, AAA No. 77 114 Y 00140 05 JISI, won multi-million-dollar award enjoining the franchisor's internet encroachment in developer’s Southern California territory.
• Commercial & Regulatory Litigation include:
• In Re SBC Communications, Inc. and AT&T Corp., Docket No. 05A-084T, obtained administrative ruling that no Colorado regulatory approval was required for SBC/AT&T merger, and
• WorldCom, Inc. (s/k/a MCI WorldCom) v. US West Communications, Inc., Case No. 96-B-404, won $2,617,331.90 summary judgment and received congratulatory phone call from Bernie Ebbers.

Associate (law firm was then known as Moye, Giles, O’Keefe, Vermeire & Gorrell, LLP 1990 –1995

• Dreith and EEOC v. National Football League, Case No. 91-C-1289, led effort to negotiate a favorable settlement in a landmark age discrimination litigation against the NFL.
• Martin Marietta v. Don Ward Trucking, Case No. 91-C-0159, in my first solo trial, a bet the company litigation, I won a jury verdict rejecting all claims and was awarded attorney’s fees.
• People v. Reilly, Case No. 1990CV01324, served as 2nd chair in a trial broadcast on Court TV and won a jury verdict acquitting a VA nurse charged with attempted first-degree murder of her dying patient.    

SWIDLER & BERLIN, CHTD.– WASHINGTON, DC  Associate – Trial Section    1988 –1990

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS 

Harvard Law School, J.D. cum laude 

University of Colorado Boulder, B.A. with distinction

Boston University Questrom School of Business (Executive Education) – Mini MBA

Harvard Business School (Executive Education) – Strategies for Profitable Growth 

Colorado Bar – Registration No. 18139

• Culp, “Top In-House Counsel,” Tampa Bay Business Journal, Mar. 2017
• Culp, “Top Chief Legal Office or General Counsel,” Tampa Bay Business Journal, Feb. 2017
• Beyer & Culp, "Franchise Sales Compliance," International Franchise Association, May 5, 2016.
• Culp, “Management of Outside Counsel,” International Alliance of Law Firms, December 4, 2015
• Culp, “Starting a Franchise System in a Weak Credit Market,” Denver Business Journal, Feb. 11, 2011
• Culp and Spandorf, “Sourcing Products and Services for the System,” American Bar Association, 32nd Annual Forum on Franchising, Oct 14-16, 2009 (Toronto, CN).