An Insider's Look into the American Bar Association's Forum on Franchising Annual Event

Franchise Attorneys Explain What They Get out of the ABA Forum on Franchising Annual Event

Every year franchise lawyers gather for the American Bar Association's Forum on Franchising to catch up on new developments in franchise law. Blue MauMau attended the 30th Annual Event in Phoenix, Arizona. There was a wide array of legal workshops. We sat down with a few franchise attorneys, namely, Harris Chernow of Chernow Katz LLC, Andy Selden of Briggs and Morgan, and Ken Milner of Kraut Harris, who shared their long-standing insights on this event.

Roughly 40% of its members attend the American Bar Association's Forum on Franchising Annual Event. Why do you think there is such astronomically high attendance?

Milner: The cordiality and relaxed atmosphere of the Forum allow attorneys to get to know each other personally. That often leads to cooperation when the attorneys are on opposite sides in a case or transaction. Some will come in order to "protect their territory," or make certain that they are seen.

Selden: People tell us it is the quality of the program. It is the best education in franchising anywhere. People will say on the surveys that the Thursday night reception is the most valuable part of the program. They aren’t making jokes. What they are saying is that the reception is an opportunity to have a reunion with all of their buddies. People really value the personal, social and professional interchanges that occur at this event.

What sorts of people attend these events? How many of its members focus on representing franchisee cases?

Chernow: “Ninety-nine percent of attendees are legal related — lawyers and paralegals. Some franchisor executives also show up.”

Milner: Virtually all of the attendees are attorneys. However, there are always a few franchise executives, franchise consultants and franchisee association leaders. Some are so accomplished or well-known that they are invited to be speakers. There are some people who believe that the Forum and its programs are franchisor dominated. For example, at my workshop, "Franchisee Representation and Recourse," the number of attorneys representing franchisors comprised more than 70% of both sessions' attendees. Even if that claim is true, it does not matter. Attorneys representing franchisees can learn just as much — if not more — from finding out what franchisor attorneys are thinking as they can by attending a session run by other franchisee attorneys.

Selden: I would say that the attendees of the Forum on Franchising will self-identify at about 80 – 85% as predominately or exclusively as franchisor lawyers. These are people who are working in-house at bigger companies. They are associates and partners at a handful of big firms or they are self-practitioners who might have one or two regional franchisors as a client. I’m making these numbers up, but there are probably another 5% or so who identify themselves as franchisee lawyers. Someone like Dady and Garner, a small firm in Minneapolis. There are about 12 – 14 of them who only take franchisee cases. And then there is a handful that does predominately one or the other.

What do you think of the programs and workshops at the Forum on Franchising annual meeting? Are they informative for the full franchise legal community?

Chernow: Every session we have impacts the franchisee because one side of the coin is the franchisor and the other side is the franchisee. The amendments [to the laws] are intended to protect the consumer so it impacts prospective franchisees. And the laws and cases many times affect what goes into the [franchise] agreement.”

Milner: Speakers take almost a year to prepare their materials — and it shows. I look to the materials as one of my first lines of information in many of my client matters. However, I find that the actual sessions are likely to be "hit or miss." Despite the work involved, there is a great deal to be gained by being a speaker at a Forum program, and people lobby heavily for the opportunity. Many criteria — not all of them merit-based — are used to select speakers. Since speaking ability is not a major factor in the selection process, dynamic speakers are rare and several of the workshops are dull. Informative as the materials and programs may be, there is far too much emphasis on following a formula when writing or presenting.

Selden: Most of what we do here in organizing the speakers and topics of the forum has to be responsive to the needs and interests of the audience. When 80 or 85% of your audience self-identifies as working with a franchisor or I work in a firm in which most or all of our work is for franchisors, there is a natural inclination to come after topics from that perspective. But having said that, we try like the dickens to be balanced and unbiased. What sets us apart from other groups is that ours, is not perfect, but by far is the most unbiased and objective educational program on franchising. As a past officer of the forum, I am extremely proud of that.

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