Summer 2020 - Volume 40, Number 1

Franchising

The Early History of the ABA Forum Committee on Franchising and Its Publications

Steve Brown

In looking back forty years, many memories and lessons have been remembered and learned from my participation in the ABA Forum Committee on Franchising (Forum).

Franchising

Joint Employers and the National Labor Relations Board: McDonald’s Wins a Food Fight

Thomas L. Gravelle & Nicolas Guibert de Bruet

Franchising has been a significant presence in my professional career as a legal counselor. As the first woman editor of the Franchise Law Journal, its second Editor-in-Chief, and an American Bar Association Forum on Franchising leader multiple times

Franchising

Franchisor Consolidations in a Post-Pandemic World

Bret Lowell

The wave of franchisor consolidations resulting in families of franchisors in the same or related industries will be different post-pandemic than it was before COVID19. The consolidation craze that existed pre-COVID-19 will continue ...

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Dispute Resolution in the Twenty-First Century: The Challenge to Get ADR Right

W. Michael Garner

Well before the Internet and, indeed, personal computers, I was a first-year associate in a large firm, working on a large case. One sunny spring day, I was called into a conference room for a “team meeting” and found the lead partner, ...

Managing the Proliferation of Global Franchise Regulation

Ann Hurwitz

I began practicing franchise law more than thirty-five years ago. Franchise regulation was then in its infancy. California had enacted its Franchise Investment Law1 in 1970, adopting a regulatory regime similar to securities law; that is, registration of the franchise offering with the state and required disclosure to the prospective purchaser. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) soon followed with federal regulation, promulgating the original FTC Franchise Rule2 (Original FTC Franchise Rule) in December 1978, with an effective date of October 21, 1979. Applicable in all U.S. states and territories, the Original FTC Franchise Rule mandated pre-sale disclosure, but did not require registration of the franchise offering. In addition to California, a few other states (Registration States)3 adopted franchise sales laws resembling the California Franchise Investment Law model and requiring registration of the franchise offering with the state, as well as disclosure to the prospective franchisee. A number of U.S. states (Relationship States)4 also enacted laws, commonly referred to as “relationship laws,” regulating certain aspects of the post-sale relationship between the franchisor and the franchisee.

Stradivarius Revisited: Re-Tuning Your Franchise Arbitration Instrument

Jonathan Solish & David Harford

Franchising has had a long and fitful struggle with arbitration. When the California legislature passed the firstfranchise law in the country in 1971, it prohibited theuse of arbitration clauses in franchise agreements. Soonafter, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down this protective statute as preempted by the Federal ArbitrationAct (FAA).1 This tension between protecting franchiseesfrom unfair arbitration proceedings and the FAA canbe traced like a fault line through decades of franchiselitigation.

The Forum and the Franchise Law Journal: Forty Years of Building Social Capital

William Killion

When Dan invited me to write an article for the Journal’s fortieth anniversary issue, I immediately said yes.After all, I had collected every book I could find onfranchising (in and out of print) as a resource for articlesabout the history of franchising and the contribution oflaws and lawyers to it. Retirement, I figured, would giveme time to continue writing on the subject.

Forty Years of the Franchise Law Journal

Deborah S. Coldwell

In 2007, to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the Forum on Franchising, we invited all former chairs of the Forum to express their views on the past, present, and future of franchising.

Trademark Law and Franchising: Five of the Most Significant Developments

Christopher P. Bussert

Trademarks are at the very heart of franchising. Indeed, at the core of every franchising relationship is the license of a trademark.

Both Sides Now: Making the Transition from Outside to In-House Counsel

Bethany L. Appleby & Gary R. Batenhorst

Many in-house lawyers for franchise companies began their careers at law firms where they gained experience representing these same franchise companies.

From the Editor-in-Chief

Danel J. Oates

This issue marks the fortieth anniversary of the Franchise Law Journal. For forty years, the Journal has been the preeminent source of academic scholarship on franchising. To celebrate the occasion, we felt it appropriate to prepare a special symposium edition dedicated to the Journal’s long-standing mission of excellence.