FRANCHISE LAW
Franchise Law Articles
Plain-English analysis of FDD reviews, franchise agreements, exit strategy, and ongoing counsel for franchisees and franchisors.
477 articles
Aligning Your Franchise Agreement With Your Strategy
Your franchise agreement is your business strategy written as enforceable terms, so aligning the two means making each major clause carry a specific strategic …
Building Core Values Into Your Franchise Agreement
Your franchise agreement protects your core values only when those values are written as enforceable obligations — not aspirations. A mission statement in a …
Buying a Franchise After a Job Loss: What to Know
Buying a franchise after a job loss can be a smart move — but only when you treat it as a deliberate investment decision, not a reaction to lost income. A …
Communicating Franchise Agreement Changes
Communicate franchise agreement changes by first sorting what you can change unilaterally from what needs the franchisee’s consent, then documenting every …
Control vs. Flexibility in a Franchise Agreement
The franchisor’s core drafting decision is where to demand uniformity and where to allow local judgment — enough control to protect the brand and limit …
Creating a Franchise Agreement: A Franchisor Guide
The franchise agreement is the contract that defines your entire relationship with every franchisee — and unlike the FDD, which discloses, the franchise …
Designing a Franchise Agreement to Avoid Disputes
A franchise agreement prevents disputes by leaving less to argue about: clear obligations, terms that match the FDD, a defined process for handling conflict, …
Drafting a Franchise Agreement: A Franchisor Guide
A strong franchise agreement protects the brand without scaring off good candidates — and as a franchisor you control the draft, so the leverage is in getting …
E-Commerce Clauses in a Modern Franchise Agreement
A modern franchise agreement needs clauses that answer four digital questions: who can sell online, who owns the e-commerce channel and the customer data, how …
Enforcing Brand Standards Across Franchise Locations
A franchisor enforces brand consistency across locations through the franchise agreement and the operations manual it incorporates — the two documents that turn …
Enforcing Franchise Brand Standards (the Right Way)
A franchisor enforces brand standards through the franchise agreement, not through goodwill — the agreement requires franchisees to follow the operations manual …
FDD Review Checklist: What to Check Before Signing
Before you sign a franchise agreement, your FDD review should focus on the Items that carry the most money and risk — fees, total investment, litigation …
Field Support in Your Franchise Agreement
Field support is not just an operational nicety — once you describe it in FDD Item 11 and your franchise agreement, it becomes a legal obligation you can be …
Franchise Agreement Review Checklist for Buyers
A franchise agreement review checklist works through the contract clause by clause — fees, term, territory, renewal, transfer, non-compete, and termination — so …
Franchise Agreement Terms That Drive Franchisee Success
A franchise agreement built for franchisee success is one where the franchisor’s protections and the franchisee’s economics actually line up. When …
Franchise Agreement Terms You Can't Negotiate
Some franchise agreement terms are fixed by design, and trying to negotiate them usually signals you don’t understand the model. Royalties, the …
Franchise Agreements That Attract Strong Franchisees
A franchise agreement attracts strong franchisees when it reads as a fair, two-way deal rather than a one-sided rulebook — clear fees, real support commitments, …
Franchise Agreements That Encourage Innovation
A franchise agreement encourages innovation by giving franchisees a defined, contractual channel to test and propose improvements — while keeping ownership of …
Franchise Build-Out Costs and Construction Checklist
A franchise build-out is the construction and renovation work that turns a leased shell into a branded, code-compliant location — and most of its cost and legal …
Franchise Due Diligence: A Buyer's Legal Checklist
Due diligence on a franchise means verifying the franchisor’s claims against the disclosure document, its actual financials and litigation record, and the …
