Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONFERENCES: ABA Forum to examine “soul of franchising” at 38th annual meeting, (Jun 29, 2015)

The 38th annual meeting of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising will examine the “soul of franchising” with a day of intensive programs, followed by two days of plenary sessions and workshops, on October 14-16, 2015, at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel in New Orleans.

Highlights of the meeting include the “Fundamentals of Franchising” and “International Franchising” intensive programs, the annual franchise and distribution law developments plenary session, a reception and dinner at the New Orleans Museum of Art, and a community service event, according to the recently-released program schedule.

The meeting will begin with three concurrent intensive programs on Wednesday, October 14. “Fundamentals of Franchising” will provide a comprehensive overview of franchise law for those wanting an introduction to the field, as well of those who want a refresher course. Speakers will include Corby Anderson, Chris Bussert, Leslie Curren, Ron Gardner, Allen Hillman, David W. Oppenheim, and Will K. Woods. “International Franchising 201” will provide an interactive forum for the discussion of the most salient issues faced by franchisors in their international expansion. The discussion will be led by Larry M. Weinberg (moderator), Susan Upton Douglas, Marco Hero, and Kerry Olson.

The main program will include three plenary sessions and 24 workshops on Thursday, October 15, and Friday, October 16. The first plenary session—“Annual Developments”—will be conducted by Frederic A. Cohen and Peter C. Lagarias. The second plenary session—“Franchising Reconsidered: Will the NLRB Fundamentally Change the Franchise Industry?”—will feature Richard F. Griffin, General Counsel of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board; Eric H. Karp and Jonathan Solish (co-moderators); and Dr. David Weil, U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Administration.

Workshops will cover the following topics: (1) data breaches; (2) pressure points in franchise litigation; (3) affirmative injunctive relief and other non-traditional remedies; (4) who owns the goodwill in a franchise?; (5) claims against franchise investors; (6) eight years after Leegin: when and where can franchisors fix the prices charged at franchises?; (7) using another’s intellectual property—issues, opportunities, risks; (8) rescission: the annulment of a franchise marriage; (9) strategic trial techniques for franchise counsel; (10) global dispute resolution; (11) current issues in e-discovery; (12) who is responsible when the brand falters?; (13) ethical risks in cyberspace; (14) drafting and negotiating challenging provisions in franchise and development agreements; (15) best practices for advising franchise clients on avoiding employment risks; (16) drafting the six most challenging items in the Franchise Disclosure Document; (17) electronic/mobile pay programs and data privacy standards; (18) hot issues in federal and state franchise regulation; (19) international disclosure laws; (20) franchisor strategies for dealing with the financially-challenged franchisee; (21) use of guest surveys and customer feedback; (22) mastering international franchise agreements; (23) franchising to large and sophisticated franchisees; and (24) the perils and rewards of advertising in social media.

Program co-chairs for the meeting are Andrew Loewinger and Tami McKnew. Further information and online registration are available here on the ABA Forum on Franchising website.

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