Newcastle Firm Cuts Franchise Disclosure Review 80%
A 9-lawyer Newcastle commercial partnership uses Quillio to review franchise agreements, disclosure documents under the Franchising Code of Conduct 2024, shareholder agreements, and commercial leases. Disclosure document review dropped from 5 hours to 1 hour, and the firm now advises franchisees across regional NSW and south-east Queensland within 48 hours of engagement.
What they were trying to solve
Franchisee clients arrive with a 200-page disclosure document and a 14-day cooling-off deadline under cl 18 of the Franchising Code of Conduct 2024. Partners were the only ones reviewing disclosure because junior solicitors couldn't be trusted to catch the restraint, transfer, and termination risks. That created a bottleneck, especially when franchise grant windows closed fast.
Why Quillio
Quillio reads the full disclosure document and franchise agreement, cross-checks the disclosure items against the Code's Annexure 1 requirements, flags unusual renewal/transfer/termination clauses, maps fees and marketing fund obligations, and produces a plain-English advice letter for the franchisee. Partners review the Quillio output and the agreement side-by-side.
Implementation
The firm trialled Quillio on 8 franchise matters over 6 weeks, compared outputs against the partner's own advice letters, and rolled out to the whole commercial team. Shareholder agreement and commercial lease reviews followed.
Measurable outcomes
Per matter, for a standard 200-page disclosure document and franchise agreement
From engagement to advice letter within the 14-day cooling-off under cl 18 of the Franchising Code
Senior associates now run first-draft franchise review; partner reviews Quillio output + senior analysis
More than doubled franchise intake over two quarters
Also extended to commercial lease reviews — makegood, outgoings, options
"Franchise disclosure was partner-only work here because the Code is unforgiving and the clauses are always slightly different. Quillio doesn't replace the partner judgement — but it means the partner isn't reading 200 pages cold, which was the real bottleneck."
How it works in practice
Franchise disclosure review under the Franchising Code of Conduct 2024, shareholder agreement review, commercial lease review (makegood/outgoings/options), and general commercial advisory.
What they avoided
Hiring a third partner to handle franchise overflow, or declining franchise referrals from accountants and business brokers that were driving broader commercial work.
Case study FAQs
Is Quillio trained on the updated Franchising Code?
Yes — Quillio is trained on the Franchising Code of Conduct 2024, including the updated disclosure, cooling-off, and dispute resolution provisions that commenced in April 2025, and also covers the Food and Grocery Code where relevant.
Does it catch unusual restraint clauses?
Yes — Quillio flags restraint of trade clauses that deviate from market norms (cascading restraints, unusual geographic scope, post-termination durations) and maps them against Australian case law on reasonableness.
Can it handle shareholder agreements too?
Yes — the firm also uses Quillio for shareholders agreements, JV agreements, and company constitutions, with deadlock, drag/tag, pre-emption and exit analysis.
What about commercial leases?
Quillio reviews commercial leases for makegood risk, outgoings exposure, option exercise windows, rent review mechanisms, assignment/subletting restrictions, and termination triggers.
How did the senior associates take the workflow change?
Well — the bottleneck was hurting their development. Quillio handling first-draft review means seniors now run more matters and get partner review, rather than waiting for partner availability.
Run the same pilot.
Commercial firms advising franchisees should trial Quillio on their next disclosure document and compare review time against a partner's manual read. Start a free trial.
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