Franchise Legal Players: Rob Lauer of Haynes and Boone, LLP
1851 Interviews the Highest Profile Attorneys in Franchising for the 2018 Franchise Legal Player Awards
Name: Rob Lauer
Firm: Haynes and Boone, LLP
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-lauer-3323578/
About Your Firm: Haynes and Boone, LLP is one of the American Lawyer top 100 law firms, with more than 600 lawyers in 15 offices and 40 major legal practices. We are among the largest firms based in the United States. Our growth has been driven by our client service strengths, especially our problem-solving acumen and our ability to collaborate with clients.
Website: http://www.haynesboone.com/people/l/lauer-robert
What makes your firm stand out as a resource for the franchise industry?
We are headquartered in a hotbed of franchising (Texas) and have nationally and internationally ranked transactional and litigation attorneys that focus 100% of their energies on franchising, and but we are large enough to have offices and support for our franchise clients across the US in almost any potentially relevant area of the law. We also have one of the largest US firm offices in Mexico.
What is the No. 1 thing a franchisor/franchisee should look for when identifying the right franchise attorney?
An attorney that focuses 100% of their energies on franchising is key, as is experience in the particular industry at play. Finally, you need to get along with and enjoy talking to your attorney. We have client contacts with whom we have been dealing for 20 years across different firms and clients.
When it comes to your work, what makes you happiest?
I enjoy almost everything about my work, and the diversity of the type of franchise work is key to that enjoyment. A typical day could include first working with a brand new franchisor helping them create their franchise program from scratch and then moving on to a call with a mid-size client talking to them about their first potential default and termination, then consulting with one of the largest franchisors in the world about their multiple domestic and franchise offerings and then end the day talking to a franchisor regarding a complex international joint venture halfway across the world.
What are your top concerns for the franchise industry in the next year?
Joint employer, minimum wage and other macro-economy issues are still at play even if some thought some of these issues might be alleviated with the change in administrations, but I do have concerns about the older and/or weaker franchise concepts and their continuing survival. There is seemingly exponential growth in the number of franchise systems and the competition among them (which ultimately is a very good thing), but there are a lot of brands that are struggling under the sheer weight of competition for a finite number of customers, and not all can survive. While that can be lucrative for lawyers, it is always difficult to see franchisors and/or their franchisees struggle, and I think that will continue to be an issue in 2018 and beyond as new brands continue to be launched every day into what may be already fiercely competitive industries.
What are you most optimistic about in the franchise industry in the next year?
While the exponential growth in brands and competition has drawbacks, the number of amazing new concepts is incredible to watch as both a franchise attorney and as a consumer. I am also optimistic that the US tax changes for 2018 will be helpful to small business owners and their employees, and may be an impetus for franchisors and franchisees to either decide to continue to expand or even spend money to upgrade and fix whatever may be holding them back.