Expertise
LexCase’s teams have acquired extensive expertise in certain business sectors, in particular with regard to sector-specific practices and regulations.
Franchising
LexCase has extensive expertise in franchising. Its approach is both technical and pragmatic, based on cooperation between the Business Law, Intellectual Property, Corporate Law, Tax Law, Employment Law and Litigation Departments.
Our lawyers frequently work on behalf of Franchisors and at times for Franchisees, by providing both consulting and litigation services.
Its extensive know-how in this sector allows LexCase to assist its clients by structuring a contractual framework suited to the maturity of the network or future network, and by providing daily support in all legal fields in their relations with partners (suppliers, trade clients, consumers and employees).
Setting up a franchise:
- Choice of the corporate structure to meet the project’s needs
- Audit before a franchise network is set up (intellectual property rights, unfair competition, experience in the sector, purchase and/or sales policy, etc.)
- Drafting of area reservation agreements, precontractual information documents and the franchise agreement
- Drafting of commercial documents (general terms and conditions of sale; franchise agreements, including the overall franchise contract and its agreements with franchisees; invoices, etc.)
- The implementation of an international Master Franchise Agreement or a preliminary partnership agreement
- Integrating internet and m-commerce in daily operations
- Management of IT and data protection regulations
Franchise network management:
- Adopting a cross-channel distribution policy
- Adapting the franchise network to new technologies
- Managing relations between the franchisor and its members;
- Avoiding pitfalls in changed relations (management contracts, employment agreements, etc.)
- Contract enforcement (legal actions for the payment of franchise fees, enforcement of the non-compete and non-reaffiliation clauses, etc.)
- Ensuring network protection (legal actions for unfair competition, third party proceedings, exercise of preferential and preemptive rights, etc.)
- Avoiding reconsideration of the agreement (legal action for a declaration of invalidity, for cancellation/annulment, or related to the impact of the law regarding practices that restrict competition);
- Allowing for the exclusion of certain network members who are in breach (abrupt or unfair termination, etc.)
- Compatibility of the contract vis-à-vis the law on anti-competitive practices
LexCase also regularly organizes training on these topics on its LexFormation platform.
Franchising Sector Manager(s)
