The Franchise and Distribution Law Team’s litigators and transactional lawyers practice throughout the United States, Europe and the Middle East. With more than 40 experienced lawyers in this area, our coverage is broad both geographically and by industry. This is true not only in the United States but internationally. In the Middle East, for instance, Bryan Cave has one of the best-known franchise practices in the markets in which we work.
While primarily representing manufacturers or franchisors, we also have significant experience representing distributors and franchisees. Our experience covers many industries, including automotive, hotels and lodging, construction and construction materials, industrial equipment, oil, consumer products, alcohol distribution, restaurant and food distribution, motion picture distribution, bookselling and publishing, telecommunications, health care, agriculture and electronics.
Our lawyers counsel clients and draft agreements with a view toward avoiding or guarding against litigation. But should the need arise, our litigation experience is considerable and broad-based. We have litigated matters to determine whether a business relationship constitutes a "franchise," "dealership" or "agency" entitling the relationship to special protections under the laws of various jurisdictions. We have litigated claims arising under contractual arrangements of the parties and claimed breaches of implied covenants arising from business relationships.
Our team advises clients on issues related to determination of franchise relationships under various jurisdictional and regulatory frameworks; registration of franchises and business opportunities under requisite disclosure laws; preparation and negotiation of franchise and distributorship agreements; and pricing and sales practices. We provide advice to mature franchise systems and also counsel "new" franchisors and manufacturers on key organizational details such as establishing a franchise system and lending relationships. In addition, our lawyers counsel franchisees in investigating franchise opportunities, interpreting disclosure documents and entering into and terminating franchise relationships.
Our experience extends to advising clients on antitrust issues arising in distribution chains, particularly pricing issues, as well as intellectual property issues such as trademark, service mark and unfair competition claims.