David Pratt — Champion of Franchises
LEGAL EAGLES
David Pratt — Champion of Franchises
SEPTEMBER 2018 PARKER COUNTY TODAY
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LEGAL EAGLES
David Pratt always knew that he wanted to be in the military .
At age seven , this West Virginia native knew that the moment he graduated high school he would become a soldier in the U . S . Army , following in his father ’ s and grandfather ’ s footsteps .
Four years later , he decided he needed to go and do something else .
His first job after leaving the Army was working in a mailroom at a big nationwide law firm in Austin . That is where he worked while trying to reset his direction in life .
“ There were a couple of lawyers there who were kind enough to talk to the mail boy who didn ’ t know what he wanted to do , so we would just talk about things in general , and at a certain point I said , ‘ You know what ? I can do this ,’” Pratt said . Shortly after , he enrolled at U . T . Austin , studying finance at the business school there .
“ Business always intrigued me . I worked for several startup companies during college ; it was the dot . com era and we had several businesses going , which was great . People were spending money and loving what we were doing , so things were great … but then the bubble burst .” Faced with yet another decision , Pratt decided he needed to finish up with school and decided his next step . He signed up for law school at what is now known as the Texas A & M University School of Law , located in Fort Worth .
Pratt left Austin behind and headed north to Fort Worth with his new bride to attend law school . He would be employed at his first law firm , also in Fort Worth , when a man named Jeff Storie offered him a job . “ He was an intellectual property lawyer , a trademark lawyer , and the way that my career is now going matches up a lot with how he practiced at the time . He is the reason franchising became a focus for me , because when a franchise project hit his desk , he didn ’ t know how to do it . At the time , I was the young lawyer , the cheap lawyer in the firm , so he told me , ‘ Here , go figure it out !’”
They spoke the same language and communicated well , but just two years in , Storie suffered an untimely death , which solidified Pratt ’ s commitment to follow through with franchising .
“ A couple of years into my legal practice , I had started to do a lot of transactional work and began developing that side of my business . I still did a lot of courtroom work , because that is where I started , as an appellate lawyer , but it started to get difficult because it required two different skill sets and was challenging from a time perspective to be able to do both . So when I made the decision to open my own practice , I also made the decision , in large part , to stay out of the courtroom .”
Pratt enjoys the ever-changing landscape his profession offers . He also likes that there are so many aspects of what an attorney can do . Always reading and learning how to work within the confines of the ever-changing law is something he finds fascinating .
“ It is not mundane . As a lawyer you have the ability to do so many things , from family law , to criminal law , to courtroom work , to transactional work , like I do . . . even within each of those , practice areas can be so far broken down ; the flexibility it gives you , it is very interesting work .”
Pratt specializes in franchise law , business development and brand expansion . He helps people who want to become their own entrepreneur and achieve their own version of the American dream . Pratt helps his clients put together a business plan , formulate intellectual property plans , and teaches them the best practices to grow a successful business . For him , right now is the perfect time to have this type of law practice in Parker County .
“ When I moved my family to Parker County several years ago , I could not think of a better place to set roots for my law practice . It ’ s an exciting time in Parker County . Parker County is exploding right now , from east to west . All the commercial development that is coming in , you are no doubt going to see new businesses emerge , existing business grow , and a lot of new franchises come in . I think there is a huge opportunity in Parker County right now for folks that say , ‘ I ’ ve done the corporate thing and I am done ; I want to be my own boss … .’ I think we will start seeing more of that as the development continues .”
In the future , Pratt sees the progression of the legal profession changing from old tradition . “ Less big fancy offices , high billable hour requirements and wearing suits to work every day . Today there are more of what I would call commuter lawyers — virtual lawyers who have cloudbased practices and who don ’ t go into the office every day .” One of the reasons that Pratt decided to open his own practice was so he could reduce his overhead . He says he is able to charge the client less without giving up quality , and there is an appreciation level there . “ I work with emerging companies every day and they want value for their dollar . I can ’ t give them that if I have a huge overhead to cover and still make a living . I want to be viewed as someone who has knowledge and knows how to navigate certain areas to help grow businesses for my clients without being cost-prohibitive to those businesses .”
When Pratt is not busy helping people create their own American dream , he enjoys spending time with his wife Elizabeth , his son Tristan , and his daughter Regan . “ We are definitely a sports and outdoors family , so I spend most of my ‘ free ’ time coaching my son ’ s football and baseball teams , watching my daughter compete in cheerleading and spending time out at the ranch ,” he said .