Every franchisor must comply with varying state and federal franchise laws, and most franchisors must prepare and register their franchise disclosure document.

Our lawyers work with franchisors to make the compliance process as stress-free as possible. We seek to identify available exemptions from state and federal law to reduce the compliance burden and help stream-line the state registration process. Members of our franchise team are involved in shaping the state franchise laws of the future by their involvement with the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), an organization focused on creating nationwide guidelines for state franchise regulators.

Our regulatory compliance work involves evaluating and structuring franchise systems, preparation and review of franchise disclosure documents and related agreements and documents and assisting with state registrations. We also assist clients with business opportunity law compliance, both with registration and preparing appropriate disclosure documentation.

Federal and state franchise laws include a number of potential exemptions for franchising, and depending on how your franchise system is structured, it may not be subject to certain registration or disclosure rules. Understanding the exemptions available to your business can save time and money, and our experience with exemption-based franchising can help ensure the requirements for those exemptions continue to be met. When possible, we help clients structure national exemption-based franchise systems, but we also help franchisors take advantage of exemption as part of the franchise registration work.