Leon F. Hirzel, IV

Leon F. Hirzel specializes in franchise law. Most of his work is for franchisees: owners who have received a notice of default or termination, who have a buyer the franchisor will not approve, who watched the brand open a location a few miles away, who pay into an advertising fund and cannot see what it buys, or whose personal guaranty is now the franchisor's target. He often represents groups of owners from the same system together.

For people about to buy, he reviews the Franchise Disclosure Document and the franchise agreement before anything is signed or paid, and can deliver the written review in Spanish.

He has litigated franchise cases in state and federal courts and arbitrated them before the American Arbitration Association and JAMS, including appeals to the Eleventh Circuit and Florida's district courts of appeal. He has also worked in a franchisor's legal department.

He opened Hirzel, Dreyfuss & Dempsey in 2014 and practices in English and Spanish from the firm's office in Coral Gables, Florida. He is a member of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising, the American Association of Franchisees & Dealers and the Cuban American Bar Association, and was named a Legal Eagle by Franchise Times magazine in 2017. The American Association of Franchisees & Dealers named the firm Law Firm of the Year in 2024.

Leon earned a B.A. in Economics from Florida State University. He then graduated in the top of his law school class at Nova Southeastern University. During law school, Leon served as President of the Hispanic Law Student Association, Co-Chairman of the Association of Business Law Students, and the Lead Technical Editor of the ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law.