is a shareholder at Buchalter APC, where he chairs the firm's franchise law and e-discovery practice groups and previously served as chair of litigation for the San Diego office. His national practice spans complex business and employment litigation as well as sophisticated franchise advisory services. Mr. O'Connell is a Certified Franchise Executive™ and a recognized authority on regulatory compliance, system enforcement, and legal strategy for emerging and established brands. He maintains a nationally respected franchise advisory practice, working closely with founders, executives, and development teams to build, refine, and scale franchise systems. When drafting franchise disclosure documents and franchise agreements, including single-unit, multi-unit, area development, and master franchise agreements, Mr. O'Connell's focus is always on clarity, enforceability, and alignment with the franchisor's short- and long-term goals. His views each document as an opportunity to help franchisors articulate, protect, and grow their business models. There is nothing that brings O'Connell more pleasure than seeing one of the brands he represents flourish. He is a frequent speaker at national franchise events and a regular contributor to industry publications and news outlets. Mr. O'Connell doggedly follows franchise-related legal developments and routinely publishes thoughtful, thorough, and timely articles analyzing new decisions and what they mean for franchisors, franchisees, and the broader franchise model. His insights have been quoted in Bloomberg Law, Reuters, the New York Law Journal, 1851 Franchise, and other outlets. He represents franchisors, private companies, and public entities in complex litigation, arbitration, and regulatory proceedings across the country. Mr. O'Connell's litigation practice spans a wide range of disputes, from brand-threatening franchise claims to multimillion-dollar employment and commercial cases. He earned his M.Ed. degree from Loyola Marymount University, his B.A. degree from University of Southern California and his J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

is of counsel at Gunster. She is a nationally recognized eDiscovery expert and brings over a decade of inhouse eDiscovery experience at Fortune 500 corporations, including management of discovery for the Opioid MDLs for two different companies. Ms. Sellars is client-centric and focuses on improving litigation response protocols while working to resolve current disputes as efficiently and inexpensively as possible. She has been an adjunct professor of eDiscovery and legal operations at three law schools, serves on the board of the Association of Certified eDiscovery Specialists, and teaches the course for professionals seeking ACEDs certification. Ms. Sellars frequently writes and speaks about the rapidly changing field of electronic discovery, allowing her to collaborate across the industry and remain up to date on changes in technology used by corporations, technology used in eDiscovery, and case law and judicial attitudes to eDiscovery issues. Using her substantial legal operations experience, she looks for the best ways to use automation and AI technology to streamline eDiscovery, increase efficiency and quality, and reduce cost to clients. Ms. Sellars earned her B.A. degree, cum laude, from Yale University and her J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from Rutgers School of Law.

Is an attorney at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (US) LLP, where she works on intellectual property matters, in particular on patent prosecution and litigation involving a variety of technologies including optoelectronics, applied physics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. She brings more than 15 years of scientific, technical, patent, and legal knowledge and experience to her work on behalf of clients. Ms. Gaur returns to the firm after previously working as a scientific advisor, assisting with patent prosecution and pre-litigation support for technologies including telecommunication networks, image sensors, and foundational semiconductor fabrication processes. Prior to rejoining the firm, she worked in the Silicon Valley office of a global law firm. Ms. Gaur's patent work also includes serving as the patent officer and project manager for a California-based company developing advanced optical products and software. While in law school, she combined her scientific background with her legal work to lead a collaborative initiative between law and technology focused on developing next-generation bioimaging techniques for reducing racial disparities in the documentation of soft-tissue injuries for legal proceedings. Ms. Gaur also participated in the University of California Irvine School of Law Domestic Violence Clinic and the Startup & Small Business Clinic. Since graduating, she founded an AI company that uses the latest imaging technology and AI to help victims of physical abuse record and manage evidence of deep tissue injuries. Ms. Gaur earned her B.E. degree in electronics and telecommunications from Pune University; her M.S. degree from Clemson University; her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University; and her J.D. degree from University of California, Irvine School of Law.