401-274-0600

128 Dorrance Street, Penthouse Providence, RI 02903

Our Lawyers

Louis A. Sousa

lasousa@sousamarujo.com

Education:

University of Rhode Island (B.A., 1979, Phi Beta Kappa); Villanova University (J.D., 1983).

Awards and Recognition:

Past recognition from franchise trade publication as a preeminent national franchise lawyer; Fellow of Rhode Island Bar Foundation.

Member:

admitted to Rhode Island bar 1983, Pennsylvania; 1984, U.S. District Court, District of Rhode Island; Federal Bar Associations. Admitted to Massachusetts Bar; University Club, Rhode Island Country Club.

Projects:

Title Counsel for construction of office park in RI by national financial services company; Purchaser counsel for 50 unit restaurant network; Developer counsel on numerous condominium projects in RI; Purchaser’s counsel from major Providence office building; Purchaser’s counsel for major RI manufacturer’s new building development; Landlord counsel for $300K per annum commercial lease of warehouse facility in RI; Zoning and permitting counsel to national franchise restaurant; Seller’s counsel from transfer of financial services software company; Purchaser’s counsel from acquisition of regional newspaper; Purchaser counsel assembling multi-property self-storage network; Seller’s counsel from private equity investment into family owned self-storage company; Seller’s counsel is $100M sale of assets.

Practice Areas:

Mergers and acquisitions, franchise law, commercial leasing, real estate purchase and development, zoning and planning, business succession planning, corporate advisory.

Sandra Sousa-Marujo

ssousa@sousamarujo.com

Education:

University of Massachusetts (B.A., magna cum laude, 1999); Roger Williams University School of Law (J.D., 2004).

Member:

Rhode Island, Massachusetts and American Bar Associations.

Projects:

Concentration on commercial transactions and franchise law representing franchisees in mergers, acquisitions, and dispositions. Recent transactions include: Represented purchaser in acquisition of 50 unit franchised restaurant network; Represented seller in sale of business assets for 18 stores and 8 parcels of real estate; Represented borrowers in placement of debt, revolving credit and term loan facilities in excess of $60M.

Practice Areas:

Franchise Law, Mergers and Acquisitions, Commercial Leasing Law, Financing, Recapitalization, and Restructuring, Business Law, Real Estate Law, Corporate Law.

Rachel A. Ricci

rricci@sousamarujo.com

Education:

University of Rhode Island (B.A., magna cum laude, 2016); Roger Williams University School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 2021)

Member:

Admitted to the Rhode Island (2021), Florida, Massachusetts, anc Connecticut (2022) bars.

Rhode Island Bar Association; Florida Bar Association

About:

Rachel A. Ricci is an associate with Sousa Marujo, LTD and joined the firm in September 2022.

Before joining the Sousa Marujo team, Rachel attended Roger Williams University School of Law, where she was a research and teaching assistant, served as a staff member of the Roger Williams University School of Law Review, and was a member of the Honors Program. During law school, Rachel also worked as an in-house counsel intern for a Rhode Island based insurance group and clerked for Sousa Marujo. After graduating, Rachel clerked in Providence Superior Court for the Rhode Island Supreme Court Trial Law Clerk Department for the 2021-2022 term.