--- title: "Carl E. Zwisler" url: https://burnaze.com/article/f449d57b-8974-483c-85bc-a69ec283d8c1 source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/franchise-legal-players-carl-e-zwisler-of-gray-plant-mooty-2706152 category: "Suppliers" industry: "Franchise Industry" segment: "Suppliers" topics: ["Finance & M&A"] published: 2018-04-02T13:08:26.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T04:09:29.551Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/84bb1e761714ad41b9d7ed0d97f580987201.jpg --- # Carl E. Zwisler **TL;DR:** GPM Law provides collaborative and cost-effective representation to franchisors with a team of 30+ franchise lawyers and six paralegals. The firm has played an active role in the franchise community, working with organizations such as IFA and providing comments on regulatory proposals. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2018-04-02. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/franchise-legal-players-carl-e-zwisler-of-gray-plant-mooty-2706152).* ## Story This support enhances the skills, knowledge and judgment of each of us, giving our clients spectacularly in-depth, cost-effective representation. Our team of 30+ franchise lawyers and six paralegals work collaboratively with every GPM practice group. Because franchising is a primary focus of our firm, virtually every lawyer in our firm, whether they practice corporate law, IP and technology law, tax law, labor and employment law or health care law regularly assist our franchisor clients. Our franchise lawyers are not just numerous, we are winners and thought leaders who are in the forefront of shaping franchise law, whether in the courtroom, in administrative agencies or in legislatures. Our opinions and expertise are sought ought by leading and emerging franchisors, and organizations throughout the world. **What makes your firm stand out as a resource for the franchise industry?** Our clients know that we don’t just report the law after it has been created or provide highly praised memoranda, webinars and conferences to explain how to deal with new legal developments, we work directly and behind the scenes to shape franchise regulations throughout the world, working with IFA, national franchise associations, state franchise regulators, NASAA, the US government and international organizations. During the last two years, GPM has played an active role in the franchise community. We provided the most comments of any organization on NASAA’s FPR Commentary. We chaired IFA’s SBA Franchise Registry Task Force, which was instrumental in the simplification of the process for qualifying for SBA franchise funding. We served as advisors to the Maryland Attorney General’s Franchise Advisory Council, helping to ease burdens of the registration process and to resolve conflicts over whether out of state arbitration clauses in franchise agreements would be enforceable. We conducted webinars on how to deal with NLRB’s and DOL’s joint employer standards for franchisors and challenges to common anti-poaching language in franchise agreements. We explained the novel issues associated with California’s franchise relationship law amendments and described procedures for dealing with them. We provided comments for IFA’s use in efforts to shape franchising regulatory proposals in Australia, Egypt, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. We provided comments to consultants working with the German parliament to consider a franchise disclosure law. We provided comments to the European Franchise Federation on the impact of its amended Franchising Code on U.S. and other foreign franchisors. We provided comments to an Ontario working group on proposed changes to the Ontario franchise law. We have also reached out to mayoral candidates in Minneapolis to urge them not to adopt minimum wage regulations that treat franchisees as large businesses because of their affiliation with their franchisors. In addition, we are also leaders in educating the franchising legal community. Jan Gilbert has served as chair of the IFA Legal Symposium for the last two years and Michael Gray serves on the ABA Forum on Franchising’s Governing Committee and co-chair of the 2018 Annual Forum. GPM clients praise our expertise in helping them establish new franchise programs, adapt their programs to meet critical challenges, vigorously advocate for their interests when negotiations have broken down, deal with franchisee associations and advisor councils, expand across national boundaries (regardless of where they are located), and assist them (or potential investors) in mergers, acquisitions and refinancing. We couple old fashioned values with cutting edge technology, project management skills, and coordinate with leading service suppliers. Most importantly we are responsive, reliable, creative and caring. Experience. Recognition of excellence by clients and peers. A team with multiple skill sets that can be called upon to deal with the many challenges a franchisor will face. Understanding the short and long term consequences of decisions a franchisor must make. Finding creative solutions or novel insights into problems that advance our clients’ interests. The economy and the reaction of U.S. trading partners to the administration’s trade policies. We are also closely watching what results may arise from the FTC’s decennial review of the Franchise Rule and outcomes from the surprising interest of law enforcement agencies, Congress, and the class action bar in franchisors’ anti-poaching franchise agreement language and practices. Joint employer issues. The pieces are in place to overturn NLRB, directly or through its general counsel. IFA is doing a good job of getting support for a legislative fix on both sides of the aisle. ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - Franchise Industry (sector) - IFA (company) - franchise law (topic) - Federal Trade Commission (regulator) - The Joint Corp. (company) - ftc rule (topic) - Jan Gilbert (person) - NASAA (regulator) - joint employer issues (topic) - regulatory proposals (topic) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/franchise-legal-players-carl-e-zwisler-of-gray-plant-mooty-2706152). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/f449d57b-8974-483c-85bc-a69ec283d8c1).