ANTONIA SCHOLZ

Partner

Did You Know?

Promptly after she took the bar exam, Antonia set off on a 7-day trek in Cappadocia, Turkey with her father.

The only thing Antonia loves more than Maryland crab-cakes are the Baltimore Ravens. As you might guess, Antonia is from Maryland.

One of Antonia’s life goals is to visit every U.S. National Park and Monument. Yes, that includes the ones in Guam and American Samoa.

As a child, Antonia spent a year living in Essen, Germany, where she completed 4th grade.

Antonia was raised in a town of 4,000 and graduated high school in a class of 45.

Antonia is an avid reader – tackling everything from Jane Eyre to Lonesome Dove. She also takes recommendations.

Antonia has lived in Chicago since she was 18, but still wonders when she should start saying she is “from Chicago.”

Antonia is the only member of her immediate family without a Ph.D.

Antonia is an enthusiastic hobbyist and is rarely not learning a new skill – whether it be calligraphy, gardening, yoga, new languages, or home repairs.

Antonia crosses the street to meet dogs. In fact, Antonia has pulled over her car to meet dogs.

Antonia counsels a diverse spectrum of clients on corporate and transactional matters, in particular within the franchise and distribution industry. Her practice principally focuses on complex business transactions, ranging in size from public company mergers and acquisitions to the sale of a single-unit franchise.  Antonia’s services extend to contract negotiations, equity investments and joint ventures, cross-border transactions, corporate restructuring, financing and lending transactions, and the acquisition or divestiture of assets.  Antonia also supports franchise brands in all stages of growth, including preparing franchise disclosure documents and agreements, negotiating and documenting franchise sales, transfers and terminations, and handling the wide array of other issues arising in the evolution of a franchise system.

Prior to joining Cheng Cohen, Antonia practiced at a large firm, where her practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, securities and governance, commercial finance and general corporate matters.  Much of Antonia’s passion for business and entrepreneurship also comes from having started her own pet care company, which she operated for two years prior to enrolling in law school.

  • Education

    • Juris Doctor, The University of Chicago Law School
    • Bachelor of Arts, with honors, The University of Chicago
  • Associations

    • International Franchise Association
      • Women’s Franchise Committee
    • American Bar Association Forum on Franchising
      • Publications Committee
    • Northern Illinois Franchise Association
  • Bar Admissions

    • State of Illinois
  • Awards & Recognitions

    • Best Lawyers Chicago – Franchise Law “Lawyer of the Year” (2024)
    • Future Leader Award, ABA Forum on Franchising (2016)
    • International Who’s Who Legal – Franchise Law
    • Best Lawyers in America® – Franchise Law
    • Franchise Times “Legal Eagle”
  • Speaking & Publications

    • Moderator and Speaker, “Using the FDD as a Sales Tool,” IFA Emerging Franchisor Conference (November 2023)
    • Speaker and Author, “Drafting FPRs: Lessons Learned from Two Years of Upheaval”, ABA Forum on Franchising (Nov. 2022)
    • Speaker, “What you need to know about the Pros and Cons of Equity Crowdfunding: Whether You’re a Franchisee or Franchisor”, KoreSummit (Mar. 2022)
    • Speaker, Author, “Annual Developments”, ABA Annual Forum on Franchising (Oct. 2020)
    • Co-Author and Speaker, “Avoiding and Litigating Claims in Advertising Franchised Products and Services”, ABA Annual Forum on Franchising (Oct. 2019)
    • Author and Speaker, “Between You and Me: A Toolkit to Counsel in and to Smaller Systems”, ABA Annual Forum on Franchising (Oct. 2017)
    • Author, “Plenary with Griffin and Weil Looks at Joint Employer Liability”, The Franchise Lawyer (Winter 2016)
    • Speaker, “Hot Topics in the 2015 Franchising Registration and Disclosure Season”, ABA Forum on Franchising Webinar (March 2015)
    • Co-Author, “Are You Ready to Franchise?”, Food Industry News (Dec. 2015)