Scott Goodwin

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Leaders in Law endorses Scott Goodwin as our exclusively recommended Franchise Law expert in New Zealand. If you wish to get in touch with Scott please use the contact information provided above.

Scott is a commercial lawyer with a particular passion for franchising and intellectual property.

Scott provides strategic commercial advice to a wide range of businesses on all aspects of franchising with a particular focus on creating “bankable” franchise arrangements.

He is recognised by key service providers and bankers to the franchise industry as a leader and specialist in his field and through these strategic alliances he is able to add value to his clients far beyond the provision of legal services.

Scott is part of a franchise leadership group made up of key industry service providers, bankers and the Franchise Association of New Zealand, all of whom have been instrumental in establishing New Zealand’s first bi-annual franchise survey in conjunction with Massey University.

He also assists clients with the creation of intellectual property bunkers so as to put in place effective structures for the protection of all aspects of his clients’ intellectual property relevant to the franchise system.

Scott has provided effective strategies for the protection of trade marks, logos and brands to his clients in both New Zealand and Australia and has project managed the global protection of trade marks.

Indicative Previous Work

  • Assisting a client with the completion of a high level due diligence investigation relating to the $6million acquisition of a “going concern” master franchise opportunity for an internationally recognised “coffee” franchise
  • Negotiating a master franchise agreement and regionalising sub-franchise and offer documentation for a New Zealand based client relating to a UK based franchise opportunity
  • Advising a client on the proposed acquisition of a master franchise opportunity  to export a New Zealand based system into Malaysia – including liaising with a Malaysian based solicitor experienced in franchising
  • Assisting a franchisor with the performance management and subsequent termination of a multi site franchisee including creating a commercial solution to mitigate the exposure of the franchisee’s bankers and suppliers
  • Assisting a regional master franchisee with the acquisition of a franchisor’s intellectual property including the subsequent review of the franchise structure and redrafting of appropriate franchise documentation
  • Assisting a franchisor with achieving the mutual surrender and termination of its poor performing master

Firm Description:

Goodwin Turner Commercial Lawyers was established to provide specialist legal services tailored to the needs of businesses and their owners.

To us, being commercial lawyers requires more than just legal expertise. It also requires a commercial mindset, to ensure that any advice and services provided are realistic and practical for that client.

Our main practice areas are commercial and corporate law, commercial property, intellectual property and franchising. In addition, to support the personal requirements of our business owner clients, we also assist with trust-related matters and private-client type services.

Clients may notice that our approach is somewhat different to other firms they might have encountered. We judge our success by the relationships we build with our clients and we look for opportunities to add value.

We also understand that when clients trust a lawyer to provide their legal services or advice, they want to know that the lawyer can deliver the right results for them, but also what those services will cost. We don’t believe in hidden fees, and want to ensure there is as much clarity as possible at all times about what work is being done and what it will cost. For that reason, we don’t add “standard office expenses” or “administration” charges to our bills like some other firms.

The firm as a whole is committed to providing a modern, friendly, client focused, efficient approach to your legal business requirements with a focus on adding value to your business. Goodwin Turner has been winners of the  Global Law Experts award every year since 2014.

 

Daniel L. Silfani

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Leaders in Law endorses Daniel L. Silfani as our exclusively recommended Corporate Law and Franchise Law expert in the Ohio, USA. If you wish to get in touch with Daniel please use the contact information provided above.

As an experienced corporate attorney serving as Co-Chair of the Corporate & Securities Practice Group, Dan has a broad range of expertise on all aspects of corporate law, franchise and business opportunity law. This includes franchise development and operations, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and general corporate counseling.

Franchise Development

Dan works with Franchisors and Franchisees to determine if their company can be turned into a successful franchise system. His practice focuses on the entire process from preparing the necessary franchise disclosure and system documents, registrations with applicable governmental agencies, vendor and supply chain, quality control programs and how to successfully sell franchise units. Dan also assists franchisors with revenue growth and unit count by providing a full array of business and legal advice.

Public Finance and Economic Development

Dan acts as issuer’s counsel, underwriter’s counsel or bond counsel in completing various public finance matters, including taxable and tax-exempt conduit bond transactions, state economic development loan programs and local tax increment financing. In addition, he acts as outside General Counsel for the Development Finance Authority of Summit County.

Corporate Counseling

In his role as a corporate attorney, Dan assists owners and executives of closely held businesses resolve their day-to-day legal issues, successfully buy and sell companies and develop effective succession plans. He works with clients in a wide range of industries, including chemicals, manufacturing, oil and gas, and various service industries.

Area of Focus

Additional Services

Industries

Education

  • Case Western Reserve University School of Law, JD, 1998
  • The University of Akron, MA Taxation, 2002
  • The University of Akron, BS/BA Finance, 1994, magna cum laude

Firm Description:

Brouse McDowell is a business law firm based in northern Ohio. From offices in Akron, Cleveland, Naples, Toledo and Youngstown, our 80+ attorneys serve clients across the region and far beyond. We’re a mid-size firm with the talent, diverse experience and national reach of a large firm and the unwavering service ethic and personal touch of a small firm.

With 100 years of history, we continue our long tradition of delivering sophisticated legal counsel to clients that range from sole proprietorships to the nation’s largest corporations. Our practice groups bring together the focused skills and multi-disciplinary experience that businesses need to meet their most pressing goals.

We work together at Brouse – both within and across practice areas. We capitalize on the collective insight of our colleagues, and work side by side with our clients to pursue and achieve positive outcomes. Candid conversations and true collaboration lead us to more options, deeper insight, and better solutions.

Community service is in the Brouse DNA. It is our honor to make a difference in organizations that benefit the communities where we live and work – from professional associations to civic, cultural, educational and religious groups. Our attorneys and staff contribute their time, financial resources, energy and leadership to hundreds of organizations across northern Ohio and beyond.

 

Michael S. Rosenthal

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Mike’s practice primarily involves the representation of franchise, professional franchise and service industry clients, providing both day-to-day business counseling and advice, as well as litigation services when necessary. He has represented numerous startup franchisors, sellers of business opportunities, and other sellers in licensing and distribution arrangements and counsels on ways to structure their business. Mike files necessary government registrations and disclosures, addresses regulatory problems and concerns and represents his clients in court to protect their interests. He particularly enjoys working with clients in the planning stages in order to avoid regulatory and other issues.

Before Fox Rothschild

Mike was a partner at Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, which merged with Fox Rothschild in 2018.

After graduating law school, Mike served four years as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Georgia. Following his entry into private practice in 1984, Mike remained active in service to the State of Georgia, both in the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs (as Coordinator of Special Projects) and as a Special Assistant Attorney General. Until its 2007 sale for $6.2 Billion, Mike served as an independent Director of Inland Retail Real Estate Trust, Inc. (IRRETI), a public real estate investment trust which was one of the largest owners of retail space in the Southeast. IRRETI managed over 300 retail shopping centers or single tenant properties, primarily east of the Mississippi River.

David J. Schaller

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Leaders in Law endorses David Schaller as our exclusively recommended Franchise Law expert in the USA – Colorado. If you wish to get in touch with David please use the contact information provided above.

David Schaller represents clients in franchise and distribution disputes, business torts, insurance bad faith, and professional liability matters. He relies on his significant prior experience in business to appreciate his clients’ priorities relating to complex commercial disputes.

Dave has extensive experience representing major companies in disputes related to franchise and distribution agreements, including winning precedent-setting judgments for his clients. He has successfully tried cases and arbitrations, conducted evidentiary hearings, prevailed on dispositive motions, and negotiated highly favorable settlements in jurisdictions across the country.

Dave spent 12 years in business before entering law. During this time, he developed firsthand experience with the types of challenges and disputes his clients bring to him now, including contractual breaches, employment claims, competition issues, vendor agreements, and real estate transactions. This background heavily informs Dave’s practice and helps him walk in his clients’ shoes. He efficiently and creatively resolves legal disputes while safeguarding the relationships that help his clients’ businesses thrive.

The Franchise Law Practice

Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell represents franchisors, manufacturers, and distributors in disputes with their franchisees or dealers, or in matters related to their distribution networks. We have tried cases before federal and state courts and administrative agencies from Alaska to North Carolina.

We have helped resolve disputes involving all facets of the relationship between franchisors and franchisees, including dealer fraud, establishments, terminations, relocations, franchise modifications, product introductions, and allocation of products. Beyond federal and state dealer-based or franchise-based statutory claims, our practice routinely involves defending the common law claims that typically accompany those franchise-act-based statutory claims, such as business torts, breach of contract, bad faith, and RICO.

Our role as co-national trial counsel for a major motor-vehicle manufacturer and national trial counsel for a major motor-vehicle distributor has helped hone our skills in varied venues and forums throughout the country.

Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell

Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell excels at all stages of complex civil litigation—pretrial, trial, post-trial, and appellate. The firm is recognized nationally for its significant experience in substantive practice areas of interest to corporations, including commercial litigation, product liability, employment, franchise, insurance, personal injury defense, intellectual property, and professional liability.

We use the knowledge gained through our extensive trial experience to our clients’ advantage when conducting internal investigations, early case assessments, pre-trial negotiations, and counseling to avoid future litigation.

Our firm structure neither depends on nor is geared toward considerations of leveraging high partner-associate ratios, keeping work within our own firm, or maximizing staffing levels or billable hours. Consequently, we are completely comfortable in partnering with, or retaining and supervising, lawyers from other firms who can bring to bear resources or specialized expertise best suited to the accomplishment of our clients’ goals. We have many years of experience working in close collaboration with other firms and lawyers, including members of many of the largest and best law firms in the nation, and we take pride in making these teams work effectively and efficiently for our clients’ interests.

 

Jeffrey H. Wolf

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Jeff Wolf joined Quarles & Brady as part of its efforts to build a signature Franchise & Distribution Team. For nearly 25 years of his career, he has represented franchisors of all sizes in litigation with franchisees over issues of fraud, liquidated damages, system standards, earnings claims, encroachment, advertising funds, trademark and trade dress infringement, restrictive covenants and vicarious liability. His practice has focused largely on the enforcement of franchisor post-termination rights and has included the defense of numerous class actions and system-threatening actions filed by groups of franchisees.

Mr. Wolf has tried many cases in federal and state courts, or in arbitrations, throughout the United States and has also handled many appellate matters. In addition to the franchise matters that he handles, he has litigated cases involving breach of contract, partnership, real estate, and employment disputes.

Mr. Wolf is a highly responsive attorney who prides himself on providing the best possible client service. He is committed to helping clients resolve their disputes as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. His litigation style blends the right amounts of aggressiveness and practical thinking to achieve the best possible case results.

 

Legal Services

Franchise & Distribution

Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition

Class Action Defense

Health & Life Sciences

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Labor & Employment

Financial Institutions Litigation

Trade Secrets

 

Education and Honors

Washington University in St. Louis School of Law (J.D., 1986)

University of Hartford (B.A., cum laude, 1982)

 

Bar Admissions

Arizona

 

Court Admissions

U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit

U.S. District Court, District of Colorado

U.S. District Court, District of Arizona

 

Professional and Civic Activities

Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Phoenix Board (Board of Directors)

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts (Member, Advisory Board)

Maricopa County Bar Association (Member)

State Bar of Arizona (Member: Litigation and Labor and Employment Sections)

American Bar Association (Member: Forum on Franchising)

International Franchise Association (Member: Council of Franchise Suppliers)

Terros, Inc. (Board of Directors, 1998–2010)

Maricopa County Bar Foundation (Board of Trustees, 2004–2006)

Jewish National Fund (Board of Directors, 2004–2006)

 

Professional Recognition

Best Lawyers in America® (2007–2015: Franchise Law)

Southwest Super Lawyers® (Franchise/Dealership Law); (2007-2015; named among the Top 50 attorneys in Arizona in 2012 and 2013)

The International Who’s Who of Franchise Lawyers by Who’s Who Legal (2011–2014)

Arizona’s Top Lawyers, AZ Business Magazine (2014: Commercial Litigation)

Arizona’s Finest Lawyers (2011)

Who’s Who in Law, Phoenix Business Journal (2006)

Franchise Times Legal Eagle (2004-2015)

Franchise Times Hall of Fame (2013)

Recipient of Lexology Client Choice Award (Arizona: Litigation 2015)

 

 

Jeffrey M. Goldstein

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Goldstein Law Firm is one of only four national franchise law firms in the country that represents exclusively franchisees and dealers. Jeff Goldstein’s practice covers prolific and myriad commercial complex litigation matters, and Jeff is regularly sought out by franchisees and dealers from foreign countries (e.g., UAE, South America, United Kingdom) to represent them in disputes with United States franchisors and suppliers.

Mr. Goldstein is recognized as one of the top franchise litigators for franchisees and dealers, and has extensive experience in representing clients in state and federal courts in cases involving fraud allegations, FTC violations, RICO claims, antitrust conspiracies, encroachment, unfair trade practices, violations of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unreasonable restrictive covenants not-to-compete, and wrongful terminations. Mr. Goldstein also has an active practice in state and federal appeals cases as well as Mediations and Arbitrations.

In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Goldstein’s franchise attorney practice includes counseling and advising clients in negotiating settlements in franchise, dealer and distribution disputes. Mr. Goldstein has represented clients across the United States in almost every leading franchise system, with a specialization in hotel and restaurant franchises.

After graduating from law school, Jeff began his career at the Federal Trade Commission, where he was Assistant to the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Competition. After leaving the federal government, Jeff joined the Antitrust Litigation Departments of two of the largest corporate law firms in the world, Skadden, Arps and Morgan, Lewis in Washington, DC. Jeff then moved to Philadelphia where he was a Partner at Spector, Gadon Rosen, a litigation boutique in downtown Philadelphia.

Mr. Goldstein also has served as counsel to many national independent franchisee associations. In addition, Jeff Goldstein has served as an expert witness in several federal court franchise cases, and served as an exclusive member of a panel of franchise legal experts advising academics and businessmen including investment bankers.

Mr. Goldstein graduated magna cum laude from Bucknell University with dual degrees in Philosophy and Economics in 1979. In 1983, he obtained his Juris Doctorate from Boston University School of Law, where he also simultaneously received his Masters Degree in Economics. Jeff Goldstein regularly writes scholarly articles on distribution, economics and franchising, and has taught law at George Washington University Business School and Boston University as adjunct faculty.

Mr. Goldstein is licensed to practice in Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York. Mr. Goldstein also has Bar memberships in the United States Supreme Court, the United States District Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; the United States District Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; the United States District Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; the United States District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Goldstein has also has been admitted to practice specifically or through Pro Hac Vice admission to the following federal courts: U.S. District Court Alabama, U.S. District Court Arizona; U.S. District Court California; U.S. District Court Colorado; U.S. District Court District of Columbia; U.S. District Court Florida; U.S. District Court Georgia; U.S. District Court Illinois; U.S. District Court Maryland; U.S. District Court Massachusetts; U.S. District Court Minnesota; U.S. District Court New Jersey; U.S. District Court New York, Eastern District; U.S. District Court New York, Southern District; U.S. District Court Pennsylvania, Eastern District; U.S. District Court Pennsylvania, Western District; U.S. District Court Pennsylvania, Middle District; U.S. District Court Tennessee; U.S. District Court Texas; U.S. District Court Virginia, Eastern District.

 

Paul Day

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Paul Day is a Partner at ASAR and has been with the firm since 1999.   Paul has extensive experience in corporate and commercial law matters including the representation of local and foreign clients in franchise, establishment of Kuwaiti limited liability companies, employment, foreign investment, construction, taxation and agency/distributorship related matters. Paul is a member of the Law Society of Saskatchewan.  He received his Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1989 and his law degree in 1991 from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Paul’s practice language is English.

ASAR Law Firm:

Helping you thrive in the regional corporate world, as one of the region’s leading law firms to many foreign and domestic multinational companies, we advise many of the biggest and most ambitious organizations across all major industries and we are consistently considered as the law firm of choice. Our clients have formed a bond of trust in retaining ASAR with their most groundbreaking transactions because of our extensive ability to reduce complexity, mitigate risk and, simply, to get the deal done. With more than 30 lawyers as part of our international division and spanning two emerging, and highly competitive, markets in the GCC, we are able to function exceptionally with a deeper understanding of our clients’ businesses, provide commercially innovative and robust advice to ensure profitable business outcomes for our clients. Our expertise extends over a wide range of areas that cover local and foreign multinational corporations, banks and investment companies, industrial conglomerates, governments and state authorities, and private clients. Our diverse group of skilled and qualified professionals operating under the firm’s home grown culture of ethics, integrity and hard work has instilled loyalty and credibility across the GCC and international board.

Accolades:

  • Won National Law Firm in Kuwait Award for 2013 and Restructuring Deal of the Year by the International Financial Law Review
  • Selected Amongst the World’s Best Islamic Finance Law Practitioners by Euromoney Expert Guides in 2013
  • Exclusively ranked by Chambers & Partners as Kuwait’s only tier 1 law firm for business law in 2013
  • Won the prestigious “Best Equity Deal of the Year Award in the Middle East for 2012” at the 2012 International Financial Law Review Awards
  • Award recipient for the Best Law Firm in Kuwait in 2012 by the International Financial Law Review
  • Awarded as Best Law Firm in Kuwait Award for 2011 presented by the International Financial Law Review
  • Won the Construction Law Firm of the Year 2011 Award from UK’s leading finance magazine-Finance Monthly
  • Awarded the Best Restructuring Middle East Deal of the Year award for 2010 by International Financial Law Review
  • Recipient of the Best Law Firm in Kuwait award for 2010 by International Financial Law Review
  • Recipient of the Best Law Firm in Kuwait award for 2009 by International Financial Law Review
  • Won the Best M&A Deal of the Year 2009 award for its assistance in connection with the acquisition of the money exchange operations of Bahrain Financing Company B.S.C.(c).
  • Awarded the ‘Best Deal of the Year’ awards for Kuwait and Bahrain by Islamic Finance News in 2008
  • Leading and recommended Tier 1 law firm in Kuwait in the areas of banking, capital markets, and corporate and commercial law by International Financial Law Review in 2009

 

Cecile Peskine

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Leaders in Law endorses Cecile Peskine as our exclusively recommended Franchise Law expert in France. If you wish to get in touch with Cecile, please use the contact information provided above.

Holds a Diploma of Legal Consulting Company ( DJCE ) and a Certificate of Special Studies in Economic Activity Law and Intellectual Property Law , Cecile Peskine advises and defends the network heads in the context of issues that they encounter in the Distribution Law, Consumer Law and Communications Law.

Cecile develops a practical approach to questions put to him, trying to combine legal rigor and pragmatism.
Cecile Peskine operates in French and English . Cecile also knows some tapas in Spanish, and knows a few words of Occitan.

Rashid Aliyev

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