Nicole Liguori Micklich

Nicole Liguori Micklich has earned a reputation for successfully representing franchisees and development agents at every step of the franchise relationship and in litigation with franchisors. She also frequently draws on her construction knowledge and experience to effectively represent property owners and contractors in a variety of construction disputes.

Ms. Micklich's commitment to her clients and to the field of franchise law leads to enviable results. The outcome of each case depends on the facts and circumstances of each particular case.

Ms. Micklich routinely assists potential franchisees as they review disclosure documents and proposed agreements.

She has successfully represented development agents and franchisees in arbitration and in state and federal courts in cases regarding alleged non-compliance, termination and non-renewal, franchisor refusal to consent to transfer, bad faith, contract and tort claims, and violations of state and federal laws, including disclosure laws. She has also favorably settled numerous cases on behalf of franchisees and development agents involved in such disputes.

Ms. Micklich advises clients regarding the transfer of franchise agreements and has drafted and negotiated the Asset Purchase Agreements and related Agreements, Notes and Resolutions for those transactions. She also frequently drafts and negotiates termination agreements and releases.

Ms. Micklich enjoys extensive involvement in the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising, where she is a member of the Governing Committee. She was a co-chair of the Forum’s 46^th Annual Meeting, in Dallas, Texas, November 1-3, 2023. With Mark VanderBroek, Ms. Micklich recently co-authored and presented Annual Developments in Franchise and Distribution Law for the Forum on Franchising. The book provides an overview of franchise cases and developments over its reporting year and the authors provided a comprehensive and entertaining review of the year's key judicial and legislative developments affecting franchise and distribution during the Forum's Annual Meeting. She has served on multiple committees of the Forum and was humbled to be the recipient of the 2017 ABA Forum on Franchising Future Leader Award.

Ms. Micklich is honored to be a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Rhode Island Bar Foundation and proudly holds a Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent^TM Rating. Ms. Micklich strives to work easily and collegially with franchisor counsel. She was included in the 2024 and 2025 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® for franchise law and was recognized as a Super Lawyer in the field of Franchise/Distribution in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, and prior to that time was named to the New England Rising Starts list each year from 2010 through 2016. For more about the Super Lawyer selection process visit https://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection-process/. 

Ms. Micklich has taught Franchise Law as an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University Law School, in Hamden, Connecticut, and is a frequent author and lecturer on franchise law. 

In her construction law practice, Ms. Micklich represents property owners, condominium associations, general contractors and subcontractors. She regularly advises clients regarding contracts and corporate plans and policies and drafts Construction Management Agreements, Agreements between Owner and Contractor and General Conditions of Contracts for Construction, Design Build Agreements, Subcontracts, and Agreements between Owner and Architect. Ms. Micklich represents commercial landlords and tenants in preparing and negotiating lease agreements and related documents. Ms. Micklich has successfully represented property owners in various construction and design defect claims and in land use disputes. The results in any case depend on the facts and circumstances of that particular case. 

Ms. Micklich is proud to be a Charter Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America, an invitation-only, peer-selected group of the nation's best construction lawyers, and a member of IR Global, the world’s largest exclusive professional services network.

Ms. Micklich is a trained mediator who completed 40-hours of mediation training in accordance with M.G.L. ch.233 § 23C with MWI, Boston, MA.

Ms. Micklich is admitted in the State and Federal Courts of Rhode Island and Connecticut and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Ms. Micklich is a 1999 cum laude graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 2003.

Representative Construction Clients

• Property owners with environmental concerns and disputes with prior owners, potential purchasers, State and local agencies, and others
• Homeowners with claims against home builders and design professionals for negligence, breach of contract, incomplete and defective work, damage to work-in-place, misrepresentations, fraud, and violations of Connecticut or Rhode Island law
• Condominium associations in disputes with declarants, prior owners, contractors, and design team members, typically arising from construction and transition, and in disputes with neighbors
• Design-build contractors with claims against owners, subcontractors, and design team members
• Subcontractors with disputes with owners, general contractors, and sureties 

Representative Franchise Clients

• Prospective franchisees looking for legal advice regarding Franchise Disclosure Documents, Franchise Agreements, investigation and diligence, negotiations with franchisors, anticipated investments and exposure, and growth 
• Franchisees who wish to expand
• Franchisees who wish to exit a system, including by transfer, or termination
• Development Agents, Master Franchisees, Business Developers in all stages of their relationship with the franchisor
• Franchisees, development agents, master franchisees, and others in disputes with franchisors