Sarah Pilcher, Legal Consulting
In addition to working in a number of Auckland law firms as an employed lawyer, partner and consultant, I have worked as a franchise consultant and I am a shareholder and director in a property services contracting business.
I have been working with people involved in franchising for over 15 years. I work with you from concept through to signing up and managing franchisees. I also help prospective franchisees with due diligence and have worked with many international franchisors entering the New Zealand market; and with New Zealand franchisors taking their franchise system overseas.
My Law Degree from Otago is backed up with a Masters Degree in Commercial Law and a PostGrad Diploma of Business in New Ventures both from Auckland University.
As a lawyer I have always been interested in far more than the pure legal side of business and my advice has a very practical focus gained from working outside the law.
With my background of business and legal knowledge and experience I offer both legal and non-legal advice and professional services to businesses and their owners to assist in identifying their needs, risks and issues and delivering answers and realistic solutions.
I do most of my legal work at Davenports Harbour Lawyers where I am part of the Franchise and Commercial teams. I also do some consulting, project based work and part time in-house legal work for clients directly through Sarah Pilcher Legal Consulting.
Whether acting as your lawyer or business consulting my approach is practical, to the point and commercial.
The services I offer include:
- Working with franchisors in the establishment of new franchise systems including the franchise and I.P structure, disclosure documents and franchise agreements;
- Advising potential franchisees – review of franchise agreements, leases and due diligence;
- Sale and purchase of franchise and other businesses;
- Localising international franchise systems entering NZ and export of NZ franchise systems to all jurisdictions including drafting franchise and disclosure documentation;
- Commercial Leases - drafting, review, assignments, sub-leases, rent reviews, renewals, disputes;
- Drafting, interpreting, reviewing, enforcing all commercial contracts;
- Identifying and managing business and trading risks;
- Drafting terms of trade, warranties, limited liability and indemnities;
- Intellectual property licensing and protection;
- Trading and consumer law advice, opinions and drafting;
- Competition law including advice on market dominance and price fixing;
- Software, website contracts;
- Shareholders agreements, sale and purchase of shares, disputes;
- Employment and contractor agreements, advice on redundancy and restructuring;
- Restraint of trade
Questions and Answers about this company
Sarah Pilcher, Legal Consulting Legal Advice
Sarah Pilcher
She has strong interest in intellectual property and international trade. As well as working with many well known franchise systems Sarah’s areas of expertise include structure of business ownership; I.P licensing; supply, distribution and trade agreements; business mergers and acquisitions; JV and shareholders agreements; employment and independent contractor agreements.
Sarah has worked outside the law in the real world of business and knows that business people need lawyers to quickly assess and understand the commercial situation as well as the legal issues. Sarah works with businesses in all industries and has extensive experience in import and export of products and business systems internationally.
She enjoys getting to know clients and their businesses and reflecting their specific requirements and circumstances in the advice and options she gives, and the documents she writes.
Sarah works in the franchise law team at Davenports Harbour Lawyers, a well established Auckland law firm and is also available independently for project and in-house consulting work.









