It’s the holiday season, but franchise lawyers may find little in recent events to celebrate. The challenges just keep on coming!
Most recently, we’ve been challenged by California’s AB5 legislation and Dynamex decision, the DOJ’s brief foray into challenging “no poach” provisions and the State of Washington’s energetic embrace of that campaign. Unfortunately, recent developments
The first step in creating or renegotiating a supply chain is understanding its component parts, and the roles each part plays: Producers, Manufacturers, Distributors, Retailers, and Consumers. These roles are not exclusive. For instance, the producer of a raw good, such as milk or software code, may also be the manufacturer of the finished good
The 2019 “Best and Worst Franchise” rankings have been published by Forbes. The franchise analytics firm, FRANdata, was commissioned to apply a methodology that ranks franchise brands on “health and appeal,” from the perspective of a prospective franchisee. This is the fifth report FRANdata has produced for Forbes, this time using information spanning
The female panelists at last month’s Philadelphia IFA Women’s Franchise Network Meeting provided so many great tips on how they utilize social media online to drive franchise sales that we couldn’t fit them into one blog post! Feedback from the 40 women professionals in the audience was overwhelmingly positive. Below are some additional takeaways
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has requested public comments on its Trade Regulation Rule entitled “Disclosure Requirements and Prohibitions Concerning Franchising” (the “Rule”). The Rule makes it an unfair or deceptive act or practice for franchisors to fail to give prospective franchisees a Franchise Disclosure Document, which is required to provide certain specific information about
Last time we asked, given the high number of restaurant concept bankruptcies and money sloshing around in the sector, is there still more upside than downside in the restaurant franchising sector? We can find the answer by looking at where we have been. The U.S. economy is experiencing the second longest expansion in our lifetimes,
Imagine operating a single restaurant. The food keeps bringing them in, and prices are relatively stable. Consumer confidence is high, unemployment low, discretionary income rising, and people are going out more. Now multiply these variables as if we operated a chain of restaurants, and you will find small changes in any of these variables are
Out-of-state franchisors beware of opening a franchise in New Mexico due to the recent decision in A&W Restaurants, Inc. v. Taxation and Revenue Department of the State of New Mexico and the potential for tax liability. The Taxation and Revenue Department of the State of New Mexico (“Dept.”) assessed over $29,000 in unpaid taxes against
Each year in Washington D.C., the IFA joins forces with the International Bar Association’s Franchising Committee (IBA) to hold the IBA/IFA Joint Conference immediately after the IFA Legal Symposium. This was my first year attending. As our international franchise practice grows, I found it a rewarding opportunity to educate myself about the latest issues facing
The International Franchise Expo (IFE) starts TODAY (May 31st) and runs through Saturday, June 2nd at the Javits Center in New York City. The IFE is one the largest franchise expo in the country. This is an opportunity for franchise systems to market their brands face to face with prospective franchisees and for prospective