2026 Top Franchise Lawyers You Should Know: Justin M. Klein — Marks & Klein

Franchise Legal Player: Justin M. Klein
Firm: Marks & Klein

Justin M. Klein has built a reputation as a trusted advisor to franchise brands navigating growth, compliance and long-term risk. With experience advising emerging and established franchisors across a wide range of franchise systems and business models, Klein brings a practical, business-minded approach to franchise law. His work focuses on helping brands scale responsibly while protecting both the franchisor and franchisee experience.

1851 Franchise connected with Klein to discuss what franchisors often overlook, where legal risk hides during expansion, and the lessons that continue to shape his advisory philosophy.

1851 Franchise: What originally drew you to franchise law, and what has kept you engaged in the space over time?

Justin M. Klein: I definitely did not set out to be a "franchise lawyer." In fact, I have been told that when I started practicing in this area, I did not know the difference between franchise and Francese (as in chicken Francese). Since then, and over the more than two decades of practicing in this area, I am continuously drawn to the joy of working with people that take risks every day and helping them navigate through the good and the not-so-good. 

1851: As franchising continues to evolve, what legal issue do you see brands most often underestimating today?

Klein: In my practice, what I have experienced is a general underappreciation for the evolution of the "franchisee." That is, the sophistication level of franchisees is at an all-time high and continues to evolve in that direction. However, many of the form franchise agreements being offered are archaic in many respects (as are the franchisors that draft those agreements) and are not necessarily drafted or flexible enough to attract the most qualified franchisees. This is more than a business issue because these agreements create legal restrictions or impossibilities for many franchisees to move forward with a brand and oftentimes the form agreement is incongruent with the prospective relationship.  

1851: In your experience, where do emerging franchisors tend to get tripped up from a compliance or documentation standpoint?

Klein: A major issue here is often the team around the franchisor — legal, sales consultants, etc. not being qualified or knowledgeable about the law or best practices. Having an experienced team is critical to avoiding these problems. 

1851: How should franchisors be thinking about risk management as they scale into new markets or add new unit growth strategies?

Klein: Ensuring the franchisor can support, in a meaningful way, its franchisees in new markets is critical to avoiding conflict and ensuring franchisee satisfaction.

1851: What distinguishes your approach or philosophy when working with franchise clients?

Klein: I am just a lawyer. As such, I am often called upon for my legal opinion. However, having a keen business sense and understanding of franchising is likely more important to managing the franchise relationship than knowing the law. I approach each situation first from what the law says, offers or requires and then use that to help foster guidance and advice that will yield the best business result or solution. 

1851: Looking back, what lesson from your legal career has had the greatest impact on how you advise clients today?

Klein: A senior partner in the first firm I worked with as a young lawyer chastised me for thinking a letter was in final form and could go to the client when there were old staple holes in the cover sheet after replacing other sheets from the letter that needed to be corrected. The partner explained to me that the old holes reflect to the client that I did not care if the product was pristine. Probably overboard in context, however, it made me understand how important the details are when representing a client, especially the small ones that you might overlook. 

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