Francorp Attorneys Walk Out over Illegal Practice of Law
The resignations come on the heels of reports on Blue MauMau and Franchise Times magazine, stating that Donald Boroian's Francorp had been sued by a client's franchisees when it crossed the boundaries of being a "consulting firm" by stepping into the arena of "practicing law." The lawsuit, scheduled for trial in October, was filed against South Beach Franchising, Boroian and Francorp, alleging that they not only made misrepresentations when selling franchises to prospects, but also that Francorp participated in the unauthorized practice of law in providing legal advice to his client, when neither Boroian nor Francorp was admitted to practice law in any jurisdiction.
Letters Point to Francorp's Disrespect for Attorneys and Law
One letter states, "At Francorp, I have been placed and continue to be placed in positions that question the oath I have pledged as an attorney to uphold. I am concerned that attorneys and Compliance Administrators are asked on a daily basis to engage in what could be interpreted as the unauthorized practice of law." It further proclaims, "Due to the company's blatant disrespect for the Law, the attorneys at Francorp and for the hard earned law licenses of its attorneys, I have been left with no recourse but to submit my resignation."
The other letter expresses basically the same apprehensions. "I am concerned that the Management asks its attorneys to work on project that no corporate legal department is legally allowed to do, and which only a law firm can provide." It gives as an example that attorneys are asked to draft various legal contracts for clients.
Both letters convey further concerns with non-attorneys managing the attorneys or directing their caseload. One states, "I have witnessed and have expressed concerns that the attorneys in the Legal Department are exposed because they must rely on the work of others inside Francorp that are frequently inaccurate."
But it exposes other problems saying that Francorp seeks the advice of its attorneys only for inconsequential matters, such as handling traffic tickets for the president, handling the personal affairs of management, or assisting in establishing private charitable foundations for CEO Donald Boroian.
In the letter, one attorney expressed concern that the job at Francorp required the attorney to perform functions the attorney feared might involve breaking Illinois laws and the laws of different states, or contravening the ethical oath the attorney had pledged to uphold.
In both letters the attorneys claimed they related their concerns to Francorp management with no results. As a final example, one attorney wrote that a vice president had created the Francorp 1 blog and to give it more credibility he copied material from the International Franchise Association website concerning their attorneys and the development of the new franchise disclosure regulations. In the letter, the attorney rebuked the vice president's changing of "IFA Attorneys" to "Francorp Attorneys," by stating, "Such utter disrespect and ignorance affects all of the attorneys as well as Francorp. As an attorney I am not respected and what is even more pathetic is that as an employee I am not respected."
Johns and Marino have declined to make comment for this article.
--
Related reading:
- Practicing law alleged (Franchise Times Magazine- September, 2008)
- Franchisees Accuse Francorp of Unauthorized Practice of Law in Partnering with Client
- Francorp's One-Stop-Shop Program Scrutinized at ABA Forum\
- Can Franchise Consultants Practice Law?
- Franchise topic:
- Enter Your Own Tag:
