Legal Documentation

A wise man once remarked, “If you are franchising your business, or thinking about it, the last thing you need is a lawyer”. That doesn’t mean you don’t need a lawyer, it just explains where they come in the process.

If you are developing a franchise, domestically or internationally, the first port of call is an experienced franchise consultant who can take time to understand your business and then select from a comprehensive toolkit to structure an arrangement that will work best for you. When all the commercial arrangements, fee structures, territory issues, initial term and renewal, rights and obligations of the parties, and so on, have been decided, that’s when you need the lawyer to make sure everything is properly drafted into a sound legal agreement.

If you are having problems with existing franchisees and need some help with persuading them to fulfil their contractual obligations, it is better to start by having a sensible discussion to get to the bottom of what the issue really is before deciding what to do about it. Ideally this should be done by the Franchisor, or his managers, depending on the size of the organisation and the size of the problem, but sometimes outside help is required. An experienced franchise practitioner is ideal for planning and implementing the mediation task and only when impasse is reached, or a formal document needs to be prepared, is it necessary to engage the lawyers.

When legal advice is finally required, The Franchise Development Centre work with, and recommend, solicitors who are Affiliate members of the British Franchise Association - fill out the contact form below for further information.