Movers & Shakers

“All those prominent, skilled practitioners who learned their craft from Lew are obviously a large part of his professional legacy. But the way Lew practiced ' the decency with which he treated everyone ' was most important, and should be a model for all of us,” noted Edward Wood “Jack” Dunham, partner, Wiggin & Dana (New Haven, CT).

Kim McCullough, Jeff Cowman, Lynne Hanson, and Garrett Tuttle joined the Franchise and Distribution Group of Ballard Spahr Andrews
& Ingersoll, LLP in February. They are operating from the firm's Denver office.

“Kim is a real gem in franchise law nationally, and Jeff is a seasoned litigator in franchising, as well as other areas,” Chairman Arthur Makadon said. “Being able to attract them, along with Lynne and Garrett ' adds considerable heft to our franchise and distribution practice.”

McCullough and Cowman were formerly with Perkins Coie LLP, where McCullough had been chair of the franchise practice group, and Cowman was the managing partner and litigation head of the Denver office.

Joel D. Siegel has joined Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP as a partner in the Los Angeles office. He will continue to focus his practice on franchise, distribution, and commercial litigation. His experience in commercial litigation includes Lanham Act violations, class actions, franchise, dealer and Petroleum Marketing Practices Act terminations, contract, trade secret and fraud claims, RICO claims, encroachment, and antitrust liability.

Warren Lee Lewis, Shelley Weatherbie, Charlene York, and Julia Badaliance moved their franchise practice group from Williams Mullen to Akerman Senterfitt LLP (Vienna, VA), effective March 2. Weatherbie and Lewis are shareholders, and York is an associate.

“They bring extensive experience in this highly specialized space, which has broad application across a number of industries,” said Jonathan Awner, chair of Akerman's corporate practice.

Among his activities, Lewis serves as general counsel to the Capital Area Franchise Association and is a member of the Advisory Committee to the Franchise/Business Opportunities Project Group of the North American Securities Administrators Association.

Weatherbie will be presenting papers at the International Franchising Association Legal Symposium and the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising this year.

Kaufmann, Feiner, Yamin, Gildin & Robbins LLP is now Kaufmann, Gildin, Robbins & Oppenheim, LLP, according to partner David G. Oppenheim. The New York City-based firm works with established and new franchisors on all aspects of the business.

In January, the firm added Felicia A. Nadborny, a 2006 graduate of St. John's University School of Law, as an associate.

In January, Harry M. Rifkin and David Cahn joined forces to offer a full-service franchise firm for the Mid-Atlantic region. They are based in Baltimore and are operating under the firm name Franchise and Business Law Group.

“I am excited about Harry becoming a co-owner, since his 25-plus years of litigation experience, with concentrations in franchising and creditors' rights, will certainly complement what we do here and will allow us to expand our scope and capacity,” said Cahn, who founded the Franchise and Business Law Group.

Ben Reed joined Reston, VA-based firm Plave Koch PLC. Reed has been working with franchisors for more than 10 years, most extensively in litigation areas.

CKE Restaurants, Inc. promoted E. Michael Murphy to president and chief legal officer. Murphy joined CKE in 1998 as senior vice president and general counsel for Hardees Food Systems, Inc. In 2000, he was named as the company's corporate counsel and executive vice president of franchising, and in 2006, he was appointed as the company's chief administrative officer. Andrew F. Puzder is CKE's CEO.

One of the pioneers of franchise law, Lewis Rudnick, passed away in January. He was a founding partner of Rudnick & Wolf, a Chicago-based firm that lives on as part of the large franchising practice at DLA Piper today.

Among his many contributions to the development of franchising law, Rudnick was the principal author of the original Uniform Franchise Offering Circular rules, updated in 2008 and renamed Franchise Disclosure Documents. He was one of the founding members of the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising, and he was on the committee from 1977 to 1984. Rudnick was the chair of the ABA Forum on Franchising Governing Committee from 1980 through 1982.

“All those prominent, skilled practitioners who learned their craft from Lew are obviously a large part of his professional legacy. But the way Lew practiced ' the decency with which he treated everyone ' was most important, and should be a model for all of us,” noted Edward Wood “Jack” Dunham, partner, Wiggin & Dana (New Haven, CT).