Preface

• Author: Barkoff, Rupert M., Selden, Andrew C.

Preface

Fundamentals of Franchising represents the culmination of 17 years of work by 34

contributors. The Fundamentals project was conceived in January 1987 to fill a void

in franchise law publications. At that time, many books covered certain aspects of

franchise law at both beginning and advanced levels. However, there was no publi-

cation designed to give a broad overview of the law of franchising. Consistent with

the mission of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising to educate its

members in the field of franchise law, Fundamentals is intended to introduce its

readers to the legal areas in which franchise practitioners must be conversant to

represent their clients properly, effectively, and professionally.

In October 1987, the first “Fundamentals of Franchising” program was pre-

sented as a half-day seminar to some 70 attendees in Tucson, Arizona, in conjunc-

tion with the ABA’s Tenth Annual Forum on Franchising Program. Altogether,

“Fundamentals” has now been presented 26 times. The total attendance to date ex-

ceeds 1,300.

Most of the materials presented in this book are direct descendants of the

papers developed for the Tucson program. The materials had been updated almost

annually through 1996, when the first edition of Fundamentals of Franchising was

released and, for purposes of this book, have been updated once again. Several of

the authors in this book were original participants at the Tucson program. Each

chapter has two authors, which broadens the perspective of each paper and ensures

that the papers express opinions that are within the mainstream views of franchise

law practitioners. The authors and editors of this edition have, in the aggregate,

hundreds of years of legal experience, and include four past chairs of the Forum on

Franchising as well as present and past members of the Forum’s Governing Com-

mittee. The papers necessarily reflect the experience, perspectives, and views of

their respective authors and do not purport to represent the position or opinion of the

American Bar Association or the Forum on Franchising.

For those readers who have been unable to attend a “Fundamentals” seminar

program, we strongly encourage you to do so. After all, there is no substitute for live

entertainment.

Rupert M. Barkoff

Andrew C. Selden

Editors

June, 2004

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