Getting Off The Ground
Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise.
–Roman poet Horace*
This is my inaugural post on Wisconsin Franchise and Distribution Law, a blog created to distribute useful information collected in the course of my work at Stafford Rosenbaum LLP to clients, friends and blog followers.
In our daily practice, my colleagues at Stafford Rosenbaum and I have the pleasure of working with a number of franchisors, franchisees, manufacturers, distributors and independent sales representatives. In this blog, I will emphasize developments and practices in franchise and distribution law occurring in the state of Wisconsin, but will review and discuss national trends as well.
Why franchise and distribution law? I am intrigued by the nature of the relationships that develop between franchisors and franchisees, manufacturers and distributors, and manufacturers and independent sales representatives. At their best, these relationships are win-win deals. They resemble a form of joint venture, one in which both parties receive significant value from the arrangement. But any joint venture is a complicated legal animal. It is no different in the areas of franchise and distribution law. We aim to help our clients navigate the challenges that inevitably arise.
[*What does the poet Horace have to do with franchising and distribution? When I Googled the above quote, the first link I clicked displayed a Google ad promoting “100s of franchises for $10,000 or less.” Apparently, some advertiser sees a connection.]
It is my hope that you will find the ensuing posts to be bold, informative and containing some measure of wisdom and levity. Please e-mail to let me know what you think — thumbs up or thumbs down.
