SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Oct. 12, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Ira and Linda Distenfield, founders and former CEO and president of the 173-store legal document preparation franchise, We the People, will continue to manage 18 of the stores and seek new opportunities to provide low cost legal services to consumers after parting with We The People parent company, Dollar Financial Corp. (DFC) (NASDAQ:DLLR), last week.
The Distenfields built We The People from a single office in Santa Barbara, California to locations in 32 states across the country. They had sold their company to DFC, based in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, earlier this year. Part of the sales agreement was for the Distenfields to stay with the company during a five-year transition period. The relationship lasted seven months.
While no longer involved at the corporate level, the Distenfields will still manage and operate 18 We The People franchised stores around the country. "We are in the process of increasing our ownership interest in those 18," says Ira Distenfield. "That will not change."
Ira and Linda Distenfield have retained the services of the Santa Barbara law firm Cappello & Noel LLP, which has a strong franchise law litigation background. "We want to review whether the letter of the law has been followed in the We The People sales agreement and to also investigate avenues in which the Distenfields can continue to provide consumers with low-cost legal help," A. Barry Cappello, managing partner.
"We are excited about new business opportunities that will ensure people who cannot afford high-priced attorneys have an alternative," says Linda Distenfield. "Our commitment has always been to consumers."