Successful franchisors that seek to expand their systems and new companies that are attracted to the concept of franchising face numerous legal, financial, and logistical challenges in developing and implementing a successful growth strategy. Anticipating those potential difficulties before they arise and finding ways to avoid them altogether are among the most important services that franchise counsel can provide. The 38th annual International Franchise Association ("IFA") Legal Symposium in May 2005 included two well-attended sessions that addressed the major issues that franchisors often face when trying to expand their systems.

Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.

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Some Oldsmobile franchisee-dealers remain dissatisfied with the financial settlements offered by General Motors Corp. ("GM") as compensation for GM's decision in December 2000 to phase out its Oldsmobile product line. Of the approximately 2800 Oldsmobile dealers who were operating when GM announced its phase out, fewer than 100 have not come to an agreement with GM, according to the automaker. Although numerous lawsuits have been filed in the past 2 1/2 years and some remain active, none have gone to trial so far.

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Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.

Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.

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The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) provides two avenues by which a U.S. concern can be prosecuted for improper payments to foreign officials: the anti-bribery provisions, and the books-and-records and internal-control provisions. Somewhat unclear, however, is the kind of involvement in a foreign subsidiary a U.S. parent must have such that it might be exposed to criminal or civil enforcement. This article explores liability for misconduct of foreign subsidiaries and what preventive measures a parent can take.

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Following a guilty plea last year by a major pharmaceutical company, Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum declared that "[t]he Department of Justice is committed to rooting out and prosecuting health care fraud. It is of paramount importance that the Department use every legal tool at its disposal to assure the health and safety of the consumers of America's health care system." The tools -- the variety of different criminal statutes and theories used to prosecute drug and device manufacturers -- are so diverse as to defy easy summary.

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Much attention has been paid to the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) and the stock exchanges and Nasdaq that issuers establish procedures under which their audit committees can receive complaints, including anonymous complaints. Various service providers now offer issuers solutions in this area, including procedures to submit complaints through hotlines and e-mail addresses maintained by the service providers. But none of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the rules or the extensive commentary about establishing complaint procedures addresses what the audit committee is required to do with a complaint when one is received. This article briefly discusses some considerations in dealing with such a complaint.