ABA Forum on Franchising Is “Healthy and Stable,” Says Chair

This posting was written by John W. Arden.

The American Bar Association Forum on Franchising remains “healthy and stable,” in spite of the nation’s economic woes and the ABA’s overall loss of membership, said Forum Chair Ronald K. Gardner during an October 15 “State of the Forum” address.

The group’s membership is down about two percent this year, a smaller decrease than experienced by the ABA overall. Attendance at last week’s annual meeting was up significantly from the 2009 meeting.

Last year, 650 attended the annual meeting in Toronto, nearly 200 fewer than the near-record number of 836 who attended the 2008 meeting in Austin. This year’s meeting, held at the Hotel Del Coronado near San Diego, rebounded to draw 746.

Financially, the Forum is “extraordinarily strong,” due to the efforts of Finance Officer Harris J. Chernow and his predecessors, said Gardner, managing partner of Dady and Gardner P.A. in Minneapolis.

“In the next couple of years, we hope to return to steady membership growth,” he said.

During the annual business meeting, the group elected new officers and governing committee members by adopting—by unanimous voice vote—the report and recommendation of the nominating committee.

Joseph J. Fittante, Jr. of Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren Ltd. will serve as chair of the group from 2011 to 2013. Other members of the Governing Committee will be Kerry Bundy of Faegre & Benson (2011 to 2014); Eric Karp of Witmer Karp Warner & Ryan LLP (2011 to 2014); Kathy Kotel of Carlson Restaurant Worldwide (2011 to 2013); James Goneia of Aamco (2011 to 2013); Diane Green-Kelly of Reed Smith (2011 to 2013); and Michael Lindsey of Paul Hastings (2011 to 2013).

Highlights of the annual meeting included a plenary session entitled “Strategic and Tactical Decision-Making: What Do Your Peers Think of Your Decisions,” led by Kerry L. Bundy, Dr. Melissa M. Gomez, Harris Chernow, and Joseph Schumacher, and the Annual Franchise and Distribution Developments session, presented by Bethany L. Appleby and William K. Whitner.

Program co-chairs were Deb Coldwell of Hayes & Boone LLP and Kathy Kotel of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, Inc.

The 2011 annual meeting is scheduled for October 18-21 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore. The program chairs will be Michael Lindsey and Karen Satterlee.

Barkoff, Selden Receive Rudnick Award from ABA Forum on Franchising

This posting was written by John W. Arden.

Rupert M. Barkoff and Andrew C. Selden are co-recipients of the second Lewis G. Rudnick Award for their contributions to the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising and the development of franchise law. The award was presented on October 14, during the Forum’s annual meeting in San Diego.

Barkoff, a partner in the Atlanta office of Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, and Selden, a shareholder in the Minneapolis office of Briggs and Morgan, are former chairs of the Forum on Franchising and members of the group’s governing committee.

In announcing the award before the opening session of the annual meeting, Forum chair Ron Gardner noted that both recipients practiced franchise law for nearly 40 years, have been consistently recognized as outstanding practitioners, have served as leaders and active members of the Forum, and together created the Fundamentals of Franchising, a signature program used to train novices about the intricacies of franchise law. They are co-editors of the book, Fundamentals of Franchising, which is in its Third Edition.

The Rudnick Award was created last year in remembrance of Lewis Rudnick, a founding member of the Forum and its second chair, who died in January 2009. He helped establish the Franchise Law Journal, the Forum’s quarterly publication. As senior partner of Rudnick & Wolfe (currently DLA Piper), he trained several generations of some of America’s leading franchise lawyers.

The Award is intended to honor those who have made substantial contributions to the Forum and to franchise law as a discipline, while comporting themselves in accordance with Lew Rudnick’s high standards of professionalism.

The inaugural Lewis G. Rudnick Award was presented to John R.F. Baer of Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. at last year’s annual meeting.

Future Leaders Awards

In addition to the Rudnick Award, the Forum bestowed the 2010 Future Leader Awards to Dawn Newton of Fitzgerald Abbott & Beardsley LLP in Oakland, California and Jane Edmonds of Cassels Brock in Toronto.

Despite Lower Turnout, ABA Forum on Franchising Is in Good Shape: Chair

This posting was written by John W. Arden.

In spite of sharply lower attendance at the ABA Forum on Franchising’s 32nd annual meeting, the “State of the Forum” is still “very, very good,” according to an October 16 address by Ronald Gardner, new chair of the group.

Attendance at last week’s annual meeting in Toronto was down by nearly 200 from last year’s near-record number—from 836 to 650. Nevertheless, the turnout was better than expected in view of overall economic conditions, said Gardner, managing partner of Dady and Garner in Minneapolis.

Other indicators are all positive, Gardner noted. Membership retention is at or above other ABA units. The Forum continues to be on solid financial footing. And the group has been able to lock in annual meeting facilities at favorable rates through 2013.

In Forum business, the group voted unanimously to amend its bylaws to expand the size of the governing committee from nine to 12 at-large members.

Three nominees were elected unanimously to serve terms on the governing committee. Serving new terms from 2010 through 2013 will be Leslie Curran of Plave Koch PLC in Reston, Virginia; Joseph Fittante of Larkin Hoffman in Minneapolis; and Michael Joblove of Genovese Joblove & Battista in Miami.

The Forum was revisiting the location of its 1989 meeting—the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto.

Highlights of the meeting included a plenary session on “Engineering Healthy Franchise Relationships,” led by franchise relationship expert Greg Nathan, and the Annual Franchise and Distribution Developments session, presented by Joel R. Buckberg of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz in Nashville and Jon P. Christiansen of Foley & Lardner LLP in Milwaukee. The annual reception and dinner was held at the Royal Ontario Museum.

Program co-chairs were Kerry Bundy of Faegre & Benson LLP in Minneapolis and Larry Weinberg of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP in Toronto.

The 2010 annual meeting is scheduled for October 13-15 at The Hotel Del Coronado in Coronado, California. The program chairs will be Deborah Coldwell of Haynes and Boone LLP in Dallas and Kathy Kotel of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide of Carrollton, Texas.

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.