10 Things to Look for in a Franchise Attorney, According to the Attorney

Whether franchising your business, protecting your current franchise, buying a franchise, or expanding your portfolio as a franchisee, franchise attorneys will be essential to your success. In fact, with the depth of regulations, you cannot survive without them.

But finding a franchise attorney is not as easy as thumbing through the Yellow Pages. Here’s what ten of 1851’s Franchise Legal Players said is important when picking a franchise attorney:

Alexander Tuneski, DLA Piper: The best franchise attorneys are ones that take the time to develop a full understanding of their client’s business, so they can not only help address existing concerns, but can proactively avoid problems before they arise. While knowledge of the law is certainly critical, business acumen is an even more important trait.

Andrew Bleiman, Marks & Klein: A great franchise attorney brings a practical approach to his or her practice, is able to find balance between the sometimes conflicting legal and business issues which pop up on a day-to-day basis and who can figure out how to move forward in the face of those issues.

Michael Daigle, Cheng Cohen: Lots of things. The ability to forge a great, trusting relationship with the client that can last the entire lifecycle of the franchise system. An unwavering commitment to client service with the ability to deliver substantive knowledge quickly and efficiently. Each piece of paper sitting on my desk is a piece of the client’s business that isn’t getting done. The ability to think proactively to help the client understand and anticipate issues in order to make informed business decisions. The ability to stay abreast of what can be a rapidly changing regulatory and legal landscape. And something that isn’t legal-related - a true passion for being a part of the clients’ success.

Richard Morey, DLA Piper: A great franchise attorney is one that strikes the right balance between advocate and counselor. As an advocate, I need to do my best to get my franchise client her desired outcome. But just because a franchisor can do something (require a remodel, for example) doesn't mean she should. So as a counselor my job is also to provide suggestions and guidance on approaches that might be more successful (like maybe further testing the remodel, getting franchisee input, etc.). This can be a difficult balance sometimes, because ultimately the client makes the call, but it's important to make sure the client is considering all the options and impacts. A lawyer who always blindly does exactly what the client asks without describing possible ramifications and alternative approaches, like the lawyer who always says "no" to a client's taking on even a little legal risk in the pursuit of her business goals, seems to be falling short of the ideal.

Carl Zwisler, Gray Plant Mooty: Zwisler: A great franchise attorney understands the legal and business implications of language used in agreements, FDDs, advertising and manuals. A great franchise attorney takes the time to understand how and why franchisors and franchisees make the decisions that they make. A great franchise lawyer educates himself about developments in franchise law on an ongoing basis. A great franchise lawyer helps her clients to anticipate the ultimate consequences of any proposed action and communicates clearly with her clients about them. A great franchise attorney invests the time to keep his clients apprised of developments in franchising law and is involved in shaping the regulations that affect franchising. Finally, a great franchise attorney surrounds himself with other franchise lawyers who share their knowledge, insights and experiences with each other for the benefit of their clients.

David Paris, Paris Ackerman: The thing I hear most from our clients is that we think like business people; we are business-minded attorneys who focus on progress and breaking down roadblocks rather than creating them.

Lee Plave, Plave Koch: That’s the $64,000 question. Listening to what your clients are trying to accomplish and helping them reach that goal is critical. And while this will sound trite, putting your clients’ interests first will help them in the short-term and forge a long-term relationship that’s based on something much more than legal fees generated this quarter.

Mark Kirsch, Gray Plant Mooty: A great franchise attorney – or, for that matter, a great attorney in any field – should have the following characteristics and skills: a good listener; creativity; the ability to understand both the legal and business risks involved in an issue, and communicate those risks clearly and concisely and to help shape a solution that advances the client’s goals; to be willing to invest time and energy into learning about ancillary aspects of the client’s business and industry, recognizing that other information will provide context and insights necessary to develop coherent and strategic solutions for the client; to act and provide counsel as a strategic advisor; and to be a true partner in growth of the business.

Harris Chernow, Reger Rizzo & Darnall: It’s not just the knowledge of the franchise attorney, but it’s also how he/she conducts his/herself with the clients, advisories and others. A great franchise lawyer listens and tries best to determine the real goals and objectives of the client and overcome the client's emotional and/or unrealistic goals and objectives. However, there is a fine line in trying to determine what are unrealistic goals and objectives (more so in transactional matters). Is a lawyer the one to tell the client that his/her/its goals aren’t realistic for a business project? A great lawyer will express the opinion, but at the same time will not be the one to make that decision. How many of us have clients that we thought were going to fail and are now some of our most successful clients? Most clients will appreciate your efforts and opinions as long as they are well grounded with good intentions and you provide clear and concise explanation/rationale for the recommended actions to be taken. We are advisors and need to earn the trust of the client beyond simply the monetary engagement.

Mike Drumm, Drumm Law: The ability to understand their client’s business and give practical legal advice.