Derricka Peoples Black joined Franworth as the new Paralegal, as a member of the Legal team, and reports to Jonathan Koudelka. In this new company role, Derricka provides legal documentation support, manages the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) filing process, and assists with the Legal team’s tasks and projects.
With an initial interest in Franworth’s culture and entrepreneurial spirit, Derricka appreciated our commitment to mentorship. While she is new to franchising, Derricka brings 20 years of professional legal experience, and she’s quickly learning franchising from her team.
Before Franworth, she worked as a paralegal for Pear, Sperling, Eggan & Daniels, P.C. This Ann Arbor law firm has been around for over 70 years. She also worked for multiple attorneys in family law, criminal law, and probate. Derricka’s background includes more than seven years as a certified mediator with her own practice, which primarily focused on domestic relations, divorce, estate planning, guardianship, and conservatorship. She helped clients reach satisfactory results with minimal time and financial investments, often settling domestic disputes without going to court.
Derricka pursued her education at the University of Detroit Mercy, where she majored in political science with a minor in pre-law. She also attended the paralegal program at Oakland Community College. Derricka is married with two beautiful teenage daughters.