Like the end of any relationship, the termination of a franchise can be an ordeal. In some instances, franchisors may unwittingly complicate the process by failing to safeguard their own rights or by violating statutory protections afforded to the franchisee. In franchising, the best-laid plans for termination are laid early and consider issues related to franchise law and litigation.

Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.

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Cases of interest to you and your practice.

The Federal Reserve Board and the New York Department of Banking have adopted a strict-review standard in their evaluation of the effectiveness of the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance programs of financial institutions. Recent enforcement actions demonstrate that regulators pay particular attention to the effectiveness of Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) and Currency Transaction Reporting (CTR) as key components. In addition, an effective audit program must focus on the other essentials: Know Your Customer (KYC), Training, and Testing. How can you be sure that the institution you advise is prepared for a money laundering audit?

Third-party facilitators have played a critical role in allowing corporate misconduct to happen," according to Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey, Jr., head of the Justice Department's Corporate Fraud Task Force. Stephen Cutler, Director of Enforcement for the SEC, has warned that financial institutions violate the federal securities laws by "contributing to fraudulent accounting and manipulated financial results" of public companies. In a recent report, the Enron bankruptcy examiner described a financial institution as an "enabler" of violations by Enron's officers. In the Sarbanes-Oxley era, the government is not only rounding up the direct violators, but has also brought aiding-and-abetting charges against companies that entered into certain business transactions with other companies accused of securities violations, even though the alleged abettors themselves filed honest reports with the SEC.

Recent cases of interest to you and your practice.

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The very public prosecution of Arthur Anderson LLP demonstrated the willingness of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to bring criminal charges against organizations no matter how large and prominent or how severe the collateral consequences. Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, moreover, the government has breathtakingly broad power to convict an organization based solely on misconduct by even just one employee. So, the reality is that corporate counsel must assess the potential criminal exposure of the entire corporation in nearly every government investigation of an employee. Assessing exposure has, in recent years, involved the factors set forth in the Holder and Thompson memos (June 16, 1999 and Jan. 20, 2003) on the "Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations." Recent pronouncements by the DOJ, however, cast some doubt on the continued significance of the Thompson Memo and have made it harder to assess a corporation's criminal exposure.

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w firms are growing again through laterals and associate hires, but many of the laterals are creating "pods" which bring unique processes for delivering legal services, to the detriment of using the best experience in the firm and superior client service. While this is happening, there are major changes coming to the profession that will challenge the ability of the lawyers to train and transform young lawyers into strong contributors to the clients and the firm. At the same time, client loyalty is decreasing. When Ralph Nader wrote his book, "Unsafe at Any Speed," GM responded with denial. Now, lawyers are in denial as we focus on the changes required in the profession to simultaneously increase profits, lower legal costs to clients, and improve the quality of service. This article is provided to help lawyers overcome the old culture hurdle and get to higher profits and stronger client loyalty.