“Robust” Forum on Franchising Celebrates 30th Annual Meeting

This posting was written by John W. Arden.

The American Bar Association Forum on Franchising celebrated its 30th annual meeting on October 10-12 in Phoenix, with a record number of attendees.

Speaking before a group of approximately 850 on October 12, Forum chair Jack Dunham gave a very positive “State of the Forum” address.

“The State of the Forum is, in every way, robust,” said Dunham, a partner with the law firm of Wiggin and Dana.

An example of the group's success is the remarkable turnout at the annual meeting of 850 out of 2,100 Forum members (excluding student-members), he observed.

“No other part of the ABA comes close to the high percentage of Forum members who come, year in and year out,” according to Dunham.

The “threads” that connect the membership include (1) the extremely welcoming and collegial nature of the group “that knows how to have a good time” and (2) the dedication to “high standards of scholarship and craft” in its meetings and publications.

The group is in excellent financial shape, due to the efforts of Charles S. Modell, the Forum’s financial chief, Dunham said. The chair paid tribute to three outgoing members of the governing board (Phyllis Alden Truby, outgoing immediate past chair Steven M. Goldman, and immediate past chair Dennis E. Wieczorek), as well as ABA Forum director Kelly Rodenberg and meeting co-chairs Harris Chernow and Leslie Smith-Porter.

In a short business meeting, the membership voted in three new members of the governing committee: Kerry L. Bundy, Kathryn Kotel, and Ms. Smith-Porter.

The Forum will hold its 31st annual meeting on October 15-17, 2008 in Austin, Texas. Further information about the ABA Forum on Franchising is available from the group's web site.