Colorado Law is excited to announce Lynne Hanson (’88) as its March Alum of the Month. Hanson is a business attorney whose practice focuses on franchise law at the firm Moye White in Denver. She represents franchisors and distributors and, when it is not a conflict, franchisees, in transactional matters, including documenting and advising on the structure of franchise and distribution programs, drafting franchise agreements, trademark licenses, franchise disclosure documents, area development agreements and serving as general outside counsel to franchise companies without in-house counsel. She is a Denver-area Alumni Representative for Carleton College, and she also sits on the Board of Cocktails for a Cause, Inc., a non-profit organization that hosts events to benefit other local charities.
Hanson has always been a driven person. From a young age, she knew she wanted a challenging career, even though at that time women were encouraged to pursue only a small handful of career choices. She fell in love with the law and explored different fields, including litigation, corporate, securities, and mergers and acquisitions, before she discovered the niche of franchise law and became passionate about it.
Hanson was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English. Looking for some hands-on experience with the law after college, and to escape the freezing Minnesota climate, she struck out on her own and worked as a litigation paralegal in Washington, D.C. for several years. The experience confirmed her passion for the law and she decided to move to sunny Colorado to attend the University of Colorado Law School.
While she was in law school, she worked as a law clerk for two Denver firms: The Law Firm of Donald E. Cordova, P.C., and Nelson and Harding. After she graduated, Nelson & Harding hired her as an associate attorney to draft assignments of oil and gas property interests and write contracts and corporate formation documents. She then worked for Kutak Rock & Campbell, where she gained experience in securities, mergers and acquisitions. In 1992, she gained the opportunity to practice securities and corporations law and was introduced to franchise law when she joined Hopper & Kanouff as a business associate. It was there that she started working with Kim McCullough, who became her mentor, and with whom she would practice for over 20 years before McCullough retired in 2014. McCullough was a great teacher, a nationally recognized franchise attorney, and, according to Hanson, “she had a knack for giving practical legal advice to her clients.”
After Hopper & Kanouff disbanded, Hanson practiced franchise law at Smith McCullough and later became Of Counsel at the Denver office of Seattle-based Perkins Coie. While there, she expanded her practice of trademark law and continued to work with Kim McCullough and other franchise attorneys and paralegals who had started working together more than 10 years earlier. She continued to practice franchise law at the Denver office of Ballard Spahr in 2009. In 2014, McCullough retired and Hanson moved her franchise practice to Moye White, where she currently enjoys Moye White’s collaborative culture, its collection of modern art, and working with her colleagues, both new and old.
Colorado Law has had a wonderful impact on her personal life. She met her husband and classmate Bill Berger (‘88) there, they married in 1991, and the two raised a family in Denver. Hanson and her husband organized the 25th reunion of the Colorado Law Class of 1988 in 2013. They had a great turnout and it was fun to catch-up with classmates they had not seen in years.
Hanson enjoys advising her clients on the day-to-day issues that arise in their businesses and advising her daughters on the day-to-day issues that arise in their lives. She also enjoys “glamping” with her family in their recreational vehicle, working out, and baking, especially with chocolate.
Five Questions for Lynne Hanson
What is your fondest memory of being a student at Colorado Law?
Sitting on the lawn in front of the old law school building talking with friends and enjoying the Colorado sunshine.
What do you know now that you wish you had known in law school?
I had no idea that there was so much to learn about managing your law practice when I was in law school. Law school was focused on the intellectual side, learning how to analyze cases, and I did not realize that even in a firm, you have to develop skills to market your practice, both outwardly and to your own colleagues.
What advice would you give to current students as they're preparing to graduate?
Your career may take unexpected turns, and you should be open to new practice areas and experiences. I did not set out to be a franchise attorney; I just knew I wanted to be a transactional attorney. I started out doing litigation, then corporate and mergers and acquisitions and I still use much of what I learned early on in my franchise and trademark practice today.
Who was the biggest influence on your career?
My friend and mentor of over 20 years, Kim McCullough (’81), from whom I learned not only the nuances of franchise law, but also the importance of managing your practice. Since she retired in 2014, a part of me still feels like I am following in her footsteps.
Of what accomplishment are you most proud?
No one deal really stands out. I have consistently enjoyed giving day-to-day advice to clients as issues arise in their businesses. In the past year I transitioned a substantial franchise and trademark practice to Moye White with the help of two colleagues, which is one of the most challenging things I have done during my career.