Laura Lewis

Laura Canada Lewis

Managing Partner, Attorney

Email LLewis@CanadaLewis.com

Phone (469) 664-0120

Laura Canada Lewis focuses her practice on serving businesses with a full spectrum of legal services.  Her focus includes corporate & commercial law, real estate & construction law, and franchise law, with litigation support for each of these areas.  She is nationally recognized for her legal expertise as a Franchise Legal Eagle, Super Lawyer Rising Star, and a Best Lawyer in Dallas.

Laura, and her firm, provide corporate and commercial clients with a personalized level of service often lacking in today’s legal organizations.  She takes the time to understand her client’s aspirations, their goals, their dreams, and then crafts innovative legal solutions for every aspect of their business.  Each business starts with a plan, leading to a series of legal questions, initially focused around legal entities and organizational structure then expanding into contractual agreements and occasionally legal disputes.  Laura is there every step of the way, facilitating negotiations, creating contractual documentation, resolving conflicts, and serving her clients as a legal expert and trusted business advisor.

With an extensive background in real estate and construction, Laura is uniquely qualified to support land and real estate developers in the acquisition, sale, exchange, and development of all types of commercial real estate, as well as business owners expanding into leased or owned facilities.  Services provided range from lease reviews and real estate purchase agreements to land use and entitlement changes, to large scale project management support; collaborating with City governments, architects, engineers and contractors to create facility solutions for her clients.

Laura has assembled a highly competent and publicly awarded team in support of the firm’s franchise and franchisee clients.  Her franchise law practice supports current and prospective franchisors in every aspect of franchising, with services including general business advice and legal support, franchise disclosure documentation (FDD) & registrations, regulatory compliance, franchisee management and covenant enforcement.  Business support for franchisees is provided in the same structure as other small business clients, with additional legal expertise provided as only an expert in Franchise Law can provide.

As a litigator, Laura has had significant success representing her clients within the court and arbitrations systems.  She has represented clients with claims ranging from breach of contract to land title disputes, with awards well in excess of a million dollars.  Success in court is not always the best option for clients, given the financial cost, lengthy litigation timeframes, and ultimate risks.  As such, Laura takes pride in her ability to negotiate creative, pre-litigation solutions for her clients, resolving issues before they become emotional and volatile events.

About Laura

Law is a second career for Laura Canada Lewis, following a highly successful career in construction and real estate where she built and divested several companies.  With first-hand experience as a business owner, an exceptional legal education, and her legal experience supporting businesses as a lawyer, Laura has become a well-rounded and highly desired legal advisor.  Laura has walked in her client’s shoes and understands their challenges, concerns, and needs as a business owner.

Laura’s legal experience, prior to forming Canada Lewis & Associates PLLC, includes a law degree from Southern Methodist University (with honors), legal internships in both State and Federal courts, work within the Office of General Counsel for a franchisor of multiple restaurant concepts, and as a partner within a mid-sized Texas law firm.

Education

SMU Dedman School of Law, Juris Doctor, Cum Laude

University of North Texas, BAAS, Magna Cum Laude

Memberships & Committees

American Bar Association (ABA) – Business Law, Real Estate, Construction, Technology, Franchise, and Litigation Sections

Texas Bar Association – Real Estate, Construction, Native American Law, and Litigation Sections

Dallas Bar Association (DBA) – Business Law, Construction, Real Estate, and Franchise Sections

Collin County Bar Association

CREW Network (Commercial Real Estate Women)

Honors

Lawyers of Distinction
Recognized for outstanding expertise in Civil Litigation, 2024 

“Top Texas Women Lawyers”
Published in Texas Monthly, 2021 and 2022

Thomson Reuters “Super Lawyer Rising Star”
Peer Selected
Published in Texas Monthly, May 2020, 2021, and 2022

Franchise Times “Legal Eagle”
Franchise Industry Selected
Published in Franchise Times, April 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022

“Best Lawyers in Dallas”
Peer Selected
Published in D Magazine May 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022

Lawyers of Distinction
Top 10% of Real Estate Lawyers, 2017

Texas Bar College
Honorary Society of Highly Trained Lawyers
Member: 2015-2017

Women Leaders in Law
Published D CEO, January 2015

Select Presentations & Publications

Just a Game? Adoption of Franchising in Esports, 39 Franchise L. J. 371 (Winter 2020).

Farheen Ibrahim and Laura Lewis, “Introduction to Franchising Law,” Defense Research Institute (November 15, 2019)

“Answers to Five Questions your Client May Ask You When One of Their Franchisees File for Bankruptcy Protection.” Jim Rea, Cheryl Mullin, and Laura Canada Lewis. DBA Headnotes, July 2018.

“Addressing the Rights of Unrecorded Rights of First Refusal, Options, and Leases in Title Conveyances.” Laura Canada Lewis and Cheryl Mullin. National Business Institute, November 2017.

“Top 8 Title Defects – Cured.” Live Presentation at NBI Title Education Conference, Dallas, Texas on November 2, 2017.

“Defense Counsel’s Guide to DOL Investigations.” Laura Canada Lewis and Farheen Ibrahim. DRI Retail & Hospitality News, October 2017.

“Protect Your Brand.” Live presentation at the Texas Restaurant Association – Tool Box Talk, Dallas, Texas in March 2017.

“Pick Your Poison: Drafting Strong Arbitration or Litigation Clauses,” Texas General Counsel Association, In-House Counsel Educational Forum (September 2016)

“Practical Strategies for Developing a Cyber Incident Plan.” Business Law Journal; publication (August 2016)

“Franchising Law: Do You Know What You Are Doing?” presented and published by The Knowledge Group as a Live Webcast and white paper (June 21, 2016)

“Building a Data Breach Response Plan: Practical Solutions You Can Implement Today,” Live Presentation to Dallas Bar Association, Computer Law Section (January 2016)

“PCI Compliance, Cyber Security and Incident Response Planning,” Live Presentation to Texas In-House Counsel Summit (May 2015)