Top Franchise Legal Player: Jeffrey Wolf, Quarles & Brady LLP

Jeffrey Wolf is a nationally-recognized commercial litigator with over 35 years of experience, particularly in franchise law. He represents franchisors in disputes involving unpaid royalties, fraud, liquidated damages, system standards and other complex issues. Wolf also enforces restrictive covenants and defends against franchise and consumer class actions. Wolf’s practice extends to health care, employment, real estate and intellectual property.

Jeffrey Wolf: For starters, all franchisors should take a proactive and diligent approach to protecting their brand. The top three things, in addition to taking all necessary steps to protect intellectual property rights, in my view are: (1) carefully selecting franchisees who are aligned with the brand’s values and have the necessary qualifications and experience to successfully run the franchise; (2) establish clear guidelines and brand standards, including quality assurance standards, which helps maintain consistency across all locations and protects the brand image; and (3) monitoring compliance with brand standards by conducting regular inspections and audits of franchise locations and, when appropriate, taking prompt action to address any deviations.

Wolf: Item 19 of a franchise disclosure document — should a franchisor elect to include such disclosures in its document — is one of the most important sections as it provides crucial information on the potential financial performance and profitability of the franchise opportunity. It is a tool that can have a significant impact on a prospective franchisee’s decision making on whether to go forward with the opportunity. As a franchise attorney, I cannot overemphasize the importance of providing accurate, truthful and reasonably stated financial performance representations, with appropriate explanations and context to help prospects understand the information presented.

Wolf: Franchising is a highly regulated industry, with laws at both the federal and state levels governing disclosure, registration and the relationship between franchisors and franchisees. Overall, the largest “legal mistake” franchisors make is not prioritizing legal compliance and seeking guidance from experienced franchise attorneys. Proactively addressing legal issues with experienced counsel will help franchisors protect their brand, mitigate risks and build a strong foundation for success.

Wolf: As one of the largest and most reputable Franchise and Distribution practices in the U.S, the Quarles team consistently provides legal advice backed by a deep understanding of the market in which our clients operate. Our team includes veteran franchise lawyers who are active leaders within the ABA Forum on Franchising, editors of the Franchise Law Journal and members of various committees of the International Franchise Association.

We help clients navigate the maze of state, federal and international laws and establish, structure and expand emerging and maturing franchise systems into new jurisdictions. Where there is potential for brand acquisitions and M&A, we help clients take advantage of every opportunity. Our team also includes elite, experienced franchise litigators who have resolved major disputes short of trial, and when necessary, have tried some of the largest franchise-related cases in the industry.

Our litigators have extensive experience successfully resolving them aggressively but pragmatically. We pride ourselves on providing cost-effective representation, so our clients can concentrate on maximizing the potential of their businesses.

Our team represents clients ranging from the world’s largest franchisors and manufacturers to exciting new startups — and every size company in between and across virtually all industries. And we don’t just provide franchise-specific representation to our clients. As a national law firm of approximately 525 attorneys, we leverage firm resources in many other areas, such as labor and employment, tax, intellectual property, real estate, product liability, privacy and data protection, contracting, M&A lawyers and more to ensure our clients are fully protected on all fronts.

Wolf: To learn the business of law practice as well as all facets of your clients’ business to maximize the effectiveness of legal representation.