Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Franchise Leaders Reflect on Period of Rapid Change

By Kevin Adler
May 26, 2011

Disruptive technologies, new expectations from franchisees, tight profit margins, and limited access to capital for growth are among the issues challenging franchisors these days. Franchise attorneys must position themselves to help franchisors overcome those issues, or they will be marginalized as business leaders move forward, observed panelists at the International Franchise Association's 44th Annual Legal Symposium, held in May in Washington, DC.

“We're facing clients who are demanding more for less,” said Rochelle B. Spandorf, partner, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. “But we have reacted in a linear way, such as by offering alternative billing models. We have not looked at fundamental ways of changing.”

Read These Next
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

Law Firms are Reducing Redundant Real Estate by Bringing Support Services Back to the Office Image

A trend analysis of the benefits and challenges of bringing back administrative, word processing and billing services to law offices.

Bit Parts Image

Summary Judgment Denied Defendant in Declaratory Action by Producer of To Kill a Mockingbird Broadway Play Seeking Amateur Theatrical Rights

Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes Image

“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.

Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel Image

'Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel is a continuation of the discussion of client expectations and the disconnect that often occurs. And although the outside attorneys should be pursuing how inside-counsel actually think, inside counsel should make an effort to impart this information without waiting to be asked.