IFA Legal Symposium, IBA/IFA International Franchising Conference Scheduled for May

This posting was written by John W. Arden.

The annual International Franchise Association Legal Symposium and the International Bar Association/International Franchise Association Joint Conference on international franchising are scheduled for mid-May in Washington, D.C.

Legal Symposium

The 44th annual IFA Legal Symposium—featuring three general sessions, 21 concurrent workshops, and a six-part Basics Track—will be held on May 15-17 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Topics and speakers for the general sessions include: (1) embracing change before your franchise gets left behind, Jack Uldrich; (2) a panel discussion on adapting to change, Brian Schnell, Jack Earle, Steve Joyce, Victoria Blackwell, and Rochelle B. Spandorf; and (3) a judicial update, David Beyer and Nina Greene.

Twenty-one concurrent workshops will feature presentations on state regulation, pitfalls for start-up franchisors, mass franchise disputes, changing technology in franchising; key ethics issues; enforcing international agreements; data security and privacy laws; disclosure, exemption, and registration issues; mistakes in the pre-sale disclosure process; arbitration; pricing programs after Leegin; enforcing social media policies around the world; defaults in international agreements; and implementing system upgrades and enhancements.

Further information on the symposium can be found here on the IFA website. Information on online registration appears here.

IBA/IFA Joint Conference

The 27th annual IBA/IFA joint conference (entitled “New Approaches and Challenges in International Franchising”) will follow the IFA Legal Symposium on May 17-18 at the J.W. Marriott.

The conference will start with a reception and dinner on May 17 at the Occidental Grill in the Willard Hotel. The next day’s program will feature three plenary sessions, three workshops, and a luncheon panel discussion.

Introduced by John R.F. Baer, Chair of the IBA International Franchising Committee, the program will include the following plenary sessions: (1) selecting the appropriate vehicle for international expansion, Philip Zeidman, Daniella Canale, Ned Lyerly, John Pratt, and Will Woods; (2) news from around the world, Mr. Baer, Andrew Wiseman, Stephen J. Caldeira, Rafael Escalera, Peter Snell, Fabio Bortolotti, and Jorge Mondragon; and (3) vicarious and franchisor liability, Larry Weinberg, Penny Ward, Gregg Rubenstein, and Francesca R. Turitto.

A luncheon panel discussion—“International Franchise Development: How Do You Pick Your Franchisees?”—will feature Mr. Baer, Yoshino Nakajima, Melissa Rothring, and Luiz do Amaral.

The workshops will feature the following topics and speakers: (1) control of premises in international franchising, Marco Hero and Carl Zwisler; (2) advertising funds in international agreements, Pascal Hollander, Daniel Waddell, and Oliver Binder; and (3) franchising in regulated industries, Rocio Belda, Frank Zaid, and Mark Kirsch.

Details regarding the session and program registration are available here on the IFA website.

Written Contract Requirement of Arizona Sales Representative Law Not a Statute of Frauds

This posting was written by John R. F. Baer of Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C, author of CCH Sales Representative Law Guide.

The Arizona Sales Representative Contract Law’s requirement of a written contract is not a statute of frauds, the federal district court in Phoenix has ruled.

The absence of a written contract did not preclude a claim by a sales representative under the law. The law was designed to protect sales representatives, and the burden was on the principal to prepare a written contract, according to the court.

The legislature, at least initially, did not intend to create a statute of frauds, since having a written contract was optional in the original statute.

The court found nothing in the legislative history to support a conclusion that the legislature intended, by adding the writing requirement in 2006, to fashion a statute of frauds that would prevent a sales representative from recovering unless there is a writing, the court held.

The decision is Armored Group, LLC v. Supreme Corp., CCH Sales Representative Law Guide ¶10,334.

Further information regarding the CCH Sales Representative Law Guide appears here.

Baer Receives First Rudnick Award for Contributions to Franchise Law

This posting was written by John W. Arden.

The ABA Forum on Franchising on October 15 presented the inaugural Lewis G. Rudnick Award to John R. F. Baer in recognition of his contributions to the development of the Forum and franchise law as a discipline. Baer is a partner in the Chicago office of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, LLP.

The “lifetime achievement award” was created in remembrance of Lewis Rudnick, who died on January 24, 2009, at age 73. Recognized by the Forum as “one of the true giants of the franchise bar,” Rudnick was a founder of the Forum and its second chair (1981-1983). He helped establish the Franchise Law Journal, the Forum’s quarterly publication. As senior partner of Rudnick & Wolfe (currently DLA Piper), Rudnick trained several generations of some of America’s leading franchise lawyers.

“Most important, Lew was a kind man and consummate gentleman, who treated everyone with respect and demonstrated the personal qualities to which all lawyers should aspire,” said Edward Wood Dunham, immediate past chair of the Forum, in announcing the creation of the award.

The Rudnick Award is intended to honor members of the Forum who, over the course of distinguished careers as franchise lawyers, have made substantial contributions to the development of the Forum and to franchise law as a discipline, while comporting themselves in accordance with Lew Rudnick's high standards of professionalism, decency, and collegiality.

In presenting the first Rudnick Award, new Forum Chair Ron Gardner cited Baer’s thousands of hours of work for the Forum as a frequent speaker, author of more than a dozen Franchise Law Journal articles, editor of the Franchise Lawyer newsletter, associate editor of the Franchise Law Journal, member of the governing committee, and publications officer.

He is the chair of the Illinois Attorney General’s Franchise Advisory Board and editor of the CCH Sales Representative Law Guide, Gardner said. In addition, Baer is currently Vice Chair of the International Franchising Committee of the International Bar Association’s International Sales, Franchising and Product Law Section and formerly vice president of the Franchising Committee of Union Internationale des Avocats.

Baer has mentored many leading franchise lawyers during his long career in the field—and did all these things “with a smile,” Gardner said.

The presentation occurred during the opening session of the main program of the 32nd annual meeting of the Forum on Franchising, held in Toronto on October 14-16.

Additional Awards

Gardner referred to three additional annual awards, intended to recognize franchise lawyers at earlier stages in their careers, to encourage young and/or diverse practitioners to become and remain involved in the Forum, and to help them identify pathways to Forum leadership.

Those three awards are: (1) Chair's Award for Substantial Written Work or Presentation; (2) Chair's Future Leader Award; and (3) Chair's Explorers Award.

These awards will be presented for the first time at next year’s annual meeting, to be held October 13-15, 2009, at The Hotel Del Coronado, Coronado, California.