Franchise Legal Player Awards | Q&A with Andy Beilfuss
1851 Interviews the Highest Profile Attorneys in Franchising
Name: Andy Beilfuss
Firm: Quarles & Brady
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewbeilfuss/
About Quarles & Brady: For 125 years, Quarles & Brady LLP has provided quality legal services to a wide range of industries on a national stage. We've strived to learn our clients' businesses—to see the horizons through their eyes. We don't just counsel, but invest in the success of each client, partnering with them to achieve their business goals. This dedication and investment is what sets Quarles & Brady apart: we provide a true partnership, in every sense of the word.
Quarles & Brady is a multidisciplinary AmLaw 200 legal services provider with about 500 attorneys practicing at the top of the profession in Chicago, Indianapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, Naples, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tampa, Tucson and Washington, D.C. Our national presence allows us to draw upon a group of highly skilled attorneys from across the country to ensure the right people are working on our clients' matters. We have extensive experience working with the full industrial gamut, from cutting-edge technology to traditional manufacturing, and we have developed an extensive network of relationships with international legal counsel around the world, allowing us to effectively handle important matters for our clients on a global scale.
Our clients include major national and multinational corporations, technology companies, educational and research institutions, municipalities and government agencies, charitable organizations, industry executives, and high-net-worth individuals. They are industry leaders in technology, energy, financial services, healthcare, insurance, pharmaceuticals, real estate and manufacturing, to name just a few.
Website: www.quarles.com
1851: How did you fall into franchising?
Beilfuss: I worked for a large franchisor on the business side before going to law school. That was when I first saw the power of franchising and its effectiveness as a business model. To borrow from my friend Mark Seibert, I think it really is one of the greatest growth strategies ever (at least when done right).
1851: What do you love most about franchising?
Beilfuss: There are really two primary things I love most about franchising. The first is the entrepreneurial aspects of franchising. I truly enjoy working with clients (regardless of size) and helping them work through issues to achieve their next level of growth. Sometimes this means assisting startup franchisors with getting the right documents and systems in place. Other times, it may mean helping a publicly traded franchisor to revamp a process or a model to better compete in the marketplace. Both are equally intriguing and rewarding.
The second thing is really understanding and advising on the relationship dynamics of the franchisor and franchisees. At its core, this is a relationship business. Neither party can reach its full potential if they are not working together. I've seen (and am a part of) systems that really do this well. Those systems are able to grow and avoid unnecessary disputes that prevent the system from moving forward. On the other hand, I've also seen situations where one side (or both) fails to appreciate the other's perspective and the systems struggle to achieve their full potential. By helping each side understand why certain things are necessary and fair, they can continue to achieve their goals.
1851: What makes a great client?
Beilfuss: While we appreciate all clients that trust us to handle their legal work, the ones that are truly enjoyable to work with are those that make you part of their business teams. This is mutually beneficial to us and to them because it allows us to understand the business and what they are seeking to accomplish. That, in turn, allows us to be proactive about avoiding issues, to give business-savvy advice, and perhaps even connect clients to someone (usually a non-legal service provider) within our network who can help them advance.
1851: What makes a great franchise attorney?
Beilfuss: The short answer is a real understanding of the business. There are several great legal minds in the franchise world. Great legal skill should be a given with some of the more established firms and decorated practitioners. The thing, at least in my mind, that really separates great attorneys from others, however, is the attorney's ability to understand how legal decisions affect the client's business. I can recall numerous times when I was on the business side of things when the legal team would fail to understand what we were trying to accomplish. Or worse yet, they would use legal speak to describe things so nobody understood the advice being provided. There was nothing more frustrating than working on something for a long period of time, only to have the legal give advice that failed to really address the issues, or help us understand the risks so we could find reasonable alternative structures. Likewise, as it applies to litigation or dispute resolution, I see far too many attorneys that fail to see or lose track of the business objectives that lead to the disagreement in the first place. It then takes significant time and money just to work back to a point where a business deal could have been reached. So, I think it is always looking at legal as a piece of the business puzzle that separates the great attorneys from the rest.