Member Profiles

Sherrie Boutwell has focused for thirty years in the areas of employee benefits law and ERISA, with an emphasis on retirement and deferred compensation plans. She advises and counsels a broad range of clients, including employers, employees, plan fiduciaries, financial institutions, government agencies and trade associations, on a wide range of employee benefits matters. Sherrie has extensive experience and is a highly sought after speaker and writer on employee benefits topics. Sherrie has represented clients before the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Department of Labor, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, arbitrators from the American Arbitration Association and the United States District Court with respect to employee benefits issues. Sherrie has experience working with the unique deferred compensation issues that arise in the non-profit and governmental employer arena and also has many years of experience in the design and operation of non-qualified executive deferred compensation plans including the requirements under Section 409A of the Code. Sherrie takes pride in bringing a practical and down to earth approach to resolving complex benefits issues involving qualified plans, non-qualified plans and health and welfare plans.

Certified Specialist, Franchise and Distribution Law, The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization Over the course of a 33-year career, Tim Pickwell has represented some of the biggest names in the franchise and restaurant industry—and also advised some of the smallest. He gained his initial franchise experience negotiating international license agreements as corporate counsel for 6,000 unit franchisor Century 21® Real Estate (1988-1994). He then headed up the international franchise division of $2.2 billion revenue, publicly-traded Jack in the Box® Restaurants (1995-2000) where he supervised franchise marketing and operations. He also served as corporate counsel to the company’s purchasing, IT and marketing departments. From 2000-02 Mr. Pickwell was general counsel of a Silicon Valley-based pre-IPO telecommunications start-up, and also represented several other start-up and telecommunication companies. More recently, Mr. Pickwell served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary (2002-05) to the Coco’s® and Carrows® restaurant chains, where, among other things, he supervised real estate, risk management, human resources, franchise sales and franchise operations. Since 2005, Mr. Pickwell has had a private law practice representing national and international restaurant and franchise clients, with an emphasis on franchise registration, disclosure and relationship issues. Mr. Pickwell’s unique in-house background enables him to provide practical, business-oriented solutions to franchisors and franchisees. His expertise includes intellectual property licensing and trademark matters, international franchising, retail lease drafting and negotiations, franchise registration and compliance, litigation advice, and general corporate and business matters. Clientele include established franchisors, large restaurant companies, multi-unit franchisee organizations, as well as single-site retailers, and start-up franchisors. Mr. Pickwell is a member of the California Bar, and a Certified Specialist in Franchise and Distribution Law. He is admitted to the Federal District Courts for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of California. He is a former member of the State Bar Franchise Law Standing Committee, a frequent speaker to franchise trade organizations, and currently serves on the Board of Legal Specialization Franchise and Distribution Law Advisory Commission (FDLAC)—which drafts the legal specialization exam. Mr. Pickwell is an Honors Graduate of the University of California, San Diego, and obtained his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

I am a franchise attorney who has been representing franchise companies for 40 years. I have sat on the Board of Directors of publicly traded companies, and wrote a book, “So You Want to Franchise Your Business”.

Mr. Krasner, a founding partner of Blanchard, Krasner & French, has over 35 years of experience as a certified public accountant and attorney in a wide variety of matters and industries. His areas of practice include mergers and acquisitions, real estate, tax matters, family law, purchases and sales, litigation, licensing, franchising, corporate and partnership structuring and reorganizations, international trade, tax and estate planning. Mr. Krasner is a frequent speaker on numerous topics for a variety of groups and organizations.

Mr. Krasner, a founding partner of Blanchard, Krasner & French, has over 35 years of experience as a certified public accountant and attorney in a wide variety of matters and industries. His areas of practice include mergers and acquisitions, real estate, tax matters, family law, purchases and sales, litigation, licensing, franchising, corporate and partnership structuring and reorganizations, international trade, tax and estate planning. Mr. Krasner is a frequent speaker on numerous topics for a variety of groups and organizations.