The Franchise Law Review

While franchising promotes economic and social welfare objectives, Elizabeth Crawford Spencer argues that monitoring and regulation are needed to address potential areas of abuse of the form that can result in costly market inefficiencies. This unique study surveys franchise-specific legislation worldwide as a starting point for a thorough examination and analysis of the role of both private and public regulation of the sector in the context of current theoretical approaches to regulating contractual relationships. The book concludes that properly calibrated regulation can minimize inefficient allocations of power and risk and lead to maximum economic and social benefits by promoting the development of small business, enabling the growth of entrepreneurial skills, and facilitating economic well-being and independence among SMEs. This comparative survey will prove to be invaluable for academics in franchising marketing, management, law and practice. The Regulation of Franchising in the New Global Economy will also appeal to franchise law practitioners, consultants, policymakers and those wishing to influence policy on all sides of the debate in the many jurisdictions that are engaging in the processes of adopting, or reviewing, franchise regulation.

Written specifically to help lawyers and non-lawyers brush up on franchise law, this respected publication - now in its fourth edition - is charged with useful definitions, practical tips, and expert advice from experienced franchise law practitioners. This practical guide examines franchise law from a wide-range of experiences and viewpoints. Each chapter is written by two experienced practitioners to provide a well-rounded guide to the fundamentals of franchise law and key issues in the practice, including trademark law; structuring the franchise relationship; disclosure issues; registration; franchise relationship laws; antitrust law; counseling franchisees; and more.

A large number of American franchise systems have, over the last 40 years, made Canada one of their chose international expansion targets. This new book, written by experienced Canadian franchise lawyers, will help you advise your clients who are considering expansion into the Canadian marketplace. The book outlines a host of important differences when comparing the business, law and practice of franchising in Canada and the United States, as well as the numerous similarities between the culture and law of both societies. Topics include: structuring and expansion to Canada; trade-mark and other intellectual property issues; the Canadian franchise agreement; franchise disclosure issues; privacy issues and dispute resolution and franchise litigation in Canada. The book also includes practice notes throughout the book, highlighting key points.

As lawyers, legal scholars, and academics throughout the social sciences debate the future of legal work and the legal profession itself, they turn their attention inevitably to the rise of the franchise law firms. Founded in response to the changing market for legal services, franchise law firms have grown dramatically in recent years, but at what cost to clients and lawyers alike? This book focuses on how professional organizations (and the related work experience) are influenced by economics and the way various firms have excelled by mass producing a basic menu of services—by placing their offices at strategic locations, hiring inexperienced new law school graduates, and using television and other hard-sell means to attract clients. Van Hoy's impeccable sociological research, presented in a clear, readable, anecdotal style, will be fascinating and useful reading, not only for members of the legal profession and their academic colleagues, but also for aspiring lawyers and their future clients. Van Hoy shows that franchise law firms are a competitive innovation in the market for personal legal services—an innovation that has served to standardize lawyers' work and to dehumanize lawyers themselves. Precisely because the work of attorneys can be standardized and mass produced, a finding that may astonish some and dismay others, attorneys may be even more alienated from their chosen profession than their clients suspect. Van Hoy analyzes these matters and captures the broader context in which prepackaged firms operate; indeed, he compares franchised attorneys to lawyers in different types of firms who are also competing for the same business. Van Hoy is convinced that many attorneys are not only alienated but are ripe for unionization. He shows that collegiality no longer insulates attorneys from the pressures and dissatisfactions of the outside world, a research finding that in itself may seriously challenge prevailing viewpoints and shake confidence in the belief that legal work is not just a profession, but also a calling.