The franchise and fitness industries thrive on innovation, partnerships, and growth, but managing their challenges require more than just business skills—they require strong legal expertise. Influential lawyers play a crucial role in ensuring that franchise and fitness companies remain compliant, mitigate risks, and capitalize on opportunities. They seamlessly blend legal foresight with business pragmatism, enabling companies to grow while remaining well-protected.
One such expert is Michael C. Canseco, General Counsel at HOTWORX, a 24/7 infrared fitness franchisor based out of New Orleans, Louisiana. With a proven track record of leading transformative initiatives, Michael has consistently demonstrated how legal leadership can drive business expansion. From playing a part in helping HOTWORX grow from 500 to 735 locations to successfully resolving complex international disputes, his impact has been undeniable.
Whether managing intricate franchise negotiations or fostering franchisee profitability, Michael’s understanding of both the law and business has helped shape the company’s success. Through innovative problem-solving, team development, and ethical leadership, he has made a lasting impact on both the franchise and fitness industries, and is just getting started with a best-in-class team at his side.
Early Inspiration and the Path to Law
Michael’s journey into law began in his childhood, watching his father, an attorney, assist clients with their corporate legal matters. This early exposure sparked an interest in business, though not initially in the law itself. Observing the high costs of legal services, he decided to pursue a career in law thinking it would help him save on legal expenses in his own business ventures. However, as he delved deeper into the field, he developed a true passion for it, and the rest, as they say, is history.
One of Michael’s early clients once paid him what he considers his greatest compliment: that he would always do the right thing, even when no one was watching. This comment has stayed with him throughout his entire career and often shapes his approach to leadership. He defines effective leadership in the legal field as upholding ethical principles while passionately advocating for your client above all else.
Skills Learned Beyond Law School
Interestingly, one of the most influential experiences shaping his legal approach was serving as Chapter President of his college fraternity, Theta Xi, at LSU. Having worked his way up from Pledge Class President to Secretary to Treasurer, and ultimately to Chapter President, he quickly learned what not to do. Managing 120+ college students who often overindulged and found themselves often in trouble, he developed crucial skills in smart planning, handling the unexpected, and making quick decisions, which each helped him double the size of the fraternity overnight in 2010 when he was Chapter President by treating it like a business.
These lessons in people management and risk mitigation have proven far more valuable than any formal business class or law school seminar. Over the years, his experiences with three different franchise companies have further solidified the importance of these lessons, especially the core focus on franchisee profitability and risk mitigation—something he believes is central to success in franchising.
Driving Legal Excellence
Throughout Michael’s career, he has demonstrated a remarkable ability to lead high-stakes negotiations, drive company growth, and successfully navigate complex business challenges. His experience spans several prominent companies, where his strategic legal expertise has played a key role in their growth. Here are some of the most notable achievements in his young career:
1. Expansion at HOTWORX:
Michael has helped HOTWORX grow from 500 locations when he joined to now over 735 locations through strategic legal guidance, securing partnerships, negotiating agreements, and aligning the company’s legal framework with its goals. Michael was fortunate to be recruited to join HOTWORX by its CEO, Steve Smith, a highly respected, successful and experienced franchise innovator and entrepreneur, and has hit the ground running.
2. General Counsel at In & Out Smart Repair:
Michael helped grow the company from 13 to 77 locations, making them the third largest player in the space, and then led merger negotiations with CPR, creating the largest company in the space with over 400 locations while he concurrently managed a lawsuit with one of the country’s largest hamburger chains (with a very similar sounding name), using the settlement proceeds to fully fund the merger’s rebrand, one of his client’s only obligation in the deal.
3. Growth at Main Squeeze Juice Company:
Michael helped grow the brand from 1 to 36 restaurants as General Counsel and, concurrently guided the company to break-even in only five years as the company’s CFO. Thereafter, he successfully negotiated an acquisition deal with a private equity firm, who secured a majority stake in the company in 2022.
The Importance of Team Collaboration
One of the most challenging cases Michael worked on involved a master franchising deal located on the other side of the world. The case presented numerous complexities, including insurance issues, public relations concerns, and operational hurdles with the geographic distance and opposite time zones only adding to the difficulty. Despite these challenges, after an 11-hour mediation and nearly a year of negotiations with the claimants, insurers, attorneys and landlord, Michael and his team were able to successfully settle the matter amicably in a way that gave his client a major win while setting it up for future growth.
Long story short, they managed to buy back hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment for a small fraction of the cost, which can now be resold to another master franchisee. The logistics involved were extensive, from securing storage units large enough to hold the equipment to coordinating with insurers, attorneys, movers, contractors, and couriers, but he and his team did it all despite having to call multiple audibles throughout the process. Michael believes that the key to overcoming such a demanding project is having a great team to collaborate with and problem solve every step of the way.
This experience highlights an essential lesson: the importance of backup plans. Michael’s key strategies for success include:
- Always have multiple backup plans (plans B, C, and even D) to handle unexpected challenges that will undoubtedly arise.
- Be prepared to adapt as circumstances change – because they will.
- Give the same attention to planning your backup plans as you give to the original plan.
- Stay flexible and adjust strategies and tactics as needed (and multiple times if necessary).
- Aim for win-win outcomes to ensure success, and fall back to one-sided wins for your client.
Guiding Team Development
Michael meets with his legal department every day at 10 a.m., where he reviews their project lists in detail and provides advice, direction, guidance and deadlines. Afterward, he takes a step back, allowing his team to develop their skills and complete their assigned tasks without him micromanaging them. He places a strong emphasis on personal and professional growth, recognizing that it’s crucial for keeping his team motivated, engaged, aligned with the company’s goals, and performing on a high level.
Michael helps them stay organized, prioritize tasks, and set deadlines, ensuring their efforts lead to tangible results. Once the results are in, he then works with his team to analyze what went well, capturing key insights to apply to future projects and, more importantly, to learn from mistakes and remove them from the equation.
The principle of treating others as one would like to be treated is fundamental in both team building and in deal making. By respecting the team, having confidence in their abilities, encouraging their growth, and supporting their career development, the results are bound to be rewarding in return for he and his client. Michael believes that fostering an environment where every team member feels valued and trusted ultimately leads to both long-term success and short-term wins.
Supporting Company Goals with Innovation and Risk Management
Michael views his role as providing the CEO with a comprehensive analysis of the pros, cons, risks, and benefits of whatever is asked of him (and even of some things that aren’t), which allows him to make informed business decisions on complex issues at a moment’s notice if necessary. He views his position as akin to the company’s immune system, tasked with identifying potential threats—internal and external—and neutralizing them before they escalate into problems.
Additionally, Michael emphasizes that in-house counsel are there to support the entire team, thinking creatively and proactively with each department rather than simply playing it safe and saying ‘no.’ The legal department’s primary role is to align with and support the goals of all other departments within the company to ensure that they are all successful and have everything they need on the legal side of things to achieve their departmental goals to move the company forward.
The Power of Trust in Legal Practice
In the legal profession, trust is paramount. It’s essential for clients as well as opposing counsel, judges, secretaries, and all other parties involved. Losing even a small amount of credibility or trust with any of these parties can severely impact one’s ability to effectively represent a client. In negotiations, it’s crucial to stand by one’s word—if a position is stated as final, it must be upheld, and if an agreement is entered into, the performance of its obligations is non-negotiable. If a promise is made during negotiations with Michael, you can take it to the bank.
One of the key principles guiding his work is his commitment to upholding agreements and deals. Failing to follow through on commitments is unacceptable, and he takes this responsibility very seriously, ensuring accountability is always maintained and everyone’s word is always kept.
Aspiring Lawyers
Michael emphasizes that in the legal world, success is driven by more than just the law—psychology plays a critical role. He recommends aspiring lawyers study psychology, as he believes that nearly 95% of legal negotiations are dictated by human behavior, with only 4% relying on the law itself, and 1% depending on luck. Just like in poker, where the key lies in reading your opponent rather than the cards, he says that understanding people is paramount.
His legacy aims to show that law and business are inseparable, with each field enriching the other. By combining legal expertise with strategic business insight, he shows that lawyers can leave a lasting impact on both professions to the benefit of their client.
Adapting to the Future
The future of legal services is set to evolve at a rapid pace in the coming decades, outpacing the changes seen over the past centuries. The driving force behind this shift is technology. With the rise of AI, quantum computing, and other technological advancements, legal professionals must adapt or risk being left behind. This constant evolution makes the field exciting and dynamic.
Michael believes that AI will pose a challenge to the legal profession in the short term, but he also thinks that it presents an interesting long-term opportunity for attorneys to leverage to better serve their clients, and in-house counsel in particular, to increase the efficiency of their services. As technology continues to reshape the legal landscape, he recognizes the need for legal professionals to stay ahead of the curve.
In this rapidly changing environment, Michael also has a strong appreciation for tools like DocuSign and remote meeting technologies, which streamline legal processes, communication, and therefore improve efficiency. By embracing these kinds of innovations, he ensures his team remains agile and adaptable, ready to meet the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, whatever they may be.
Michael embraces technology, remains adaptable, continuously seeks out new knowledge, reading everything he can get his hands on. He also relies on excellent outside counsel to keep him updated after conferences and continuing education courses. Understanding that the law is always evolving, he sees the dynamic nature of the legal landscape as the standard, not the exception.
Balancing Work and Family
Michael admits to being a workaholic, but it’s a passion he enjoys. His colleagues at HOTWORX feel like family, creating a natural overlap between work and personal life. However, balancing the demands of his career with raising two young children under the age of five can be challenging. He makes a conscious effort to disconnect from work by turning off his phone and laptop while on “daddy duty” on some weekends.
However, it’s not always easy, especially when leading the legal department of a franchise company with over 735 locations on various continents, but he understands that being the General Counsel of a rapidly growing franchise company is a 24/7/365 job. As he said, you have to “Earn the Burn® (at HOTWORX).”
5 Key Learnings From Michael Canseco
- Strategic Legal Leadership: Michael demonstrates how legal expertise simultaneously drives business growth and risk management, particularly in industries like franchising.
- Leadership and Integrity: He prioritizes ethical leadership, emphasizing integrity, decision-making, and client advocacy as keys to effective legal leadership.
- Adaptability and Flexibility: Michael shows the importance of backup plans and flexibility, focusing on creating win-win outcomes to navigate unexpected challenges.
- Team Development and Trust: He fosters a supportive environment for the personal and professional growth of his team, believing it leads to greater productivity and results for his client.
- Embracing Technology: Michael adapts to rapid changes in legal services by leveraging tools like DocuSign and Zoom to improve efficiency while keeping his team agile and efficient.
| Company’s Name: | HOTWORX |
| Headquarters: | America |
| URL: | https://www.hotworx.net/ |
| Person Name: | Michael Canseco |
| Designation: | General Counsel |
