Michael G. Brennan has concentrated his practice on domestic and international business, licensing, and franchising matters for over 20 years.

Mr. Brennan is the chairman of the Franchising Committee of the International Bar Association. He speaks and writes regularly on topics of domestic and international business law. He has addressed meetings of the Chicago Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the International Bar Association, the Inter-Pacific Bar Association, the International Franchise Association, the Canadian Franchise Association, the Licensing Executives Society, and the International Young Lawyers Association on subjects including international franchising, international arbitration, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, intellectual property, immigration law, and international transactions. He has also spoken on domestic and international franchising as part of programs organized by the Practicing Law Institute, the University of Texas School of Law, the McGeorge School of Law, the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar, and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis.

Mr. Brennan has served as a co-editor of the International Encyclopedia of Franchising and was a member of the Drafting Committee of the franchise law project sponsored by the Institute for the Unification of International Private Law (UNIDROIT) in Rome, Italy. He is a regular contributor to the Journal of International Franchising.

Additionally, he has authored articles published in the International Franchise Association's Franchise Legal Digest, the Franchise Law Journal of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising, the Louisiana Bar Journal, Franchise Update, The Journal of International Franchising & Distribution Law, Venture Japan, Corporate Legal Times, Franchising World, The National Law Journal, Continental Franchise Review, and the Commerce Clearing House Business Franchise Guide. Articles published have dealt with the US Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, European Union competition law, structuring international franchises, the applicability of US franchise laws to international transactions, the resolution of international franchise disputes, regulatory and tax aspects of international franchising and licensing, and franchising in various countries of the world.

Mr. Brennan is listed as a Leading Lawyer in Illinois by the Leading Lawyers Network and is cited in Best Lawyers in America. He has been designated an Illinois Super Lawyer in 2005, 2006, and 2008. He is listed in the 2005 Who's Who Legal: The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers and was named in Franchise Times’ list of “Legal Eagles” as one of the top 101 franchise lawyers in the US and Canada. The respected English publisher Chambers and Partners names Mr. Brennan in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, noting that he "has a vast wealth of experience in domestic and international franchising arrangements and is a widely published author and speaker on the matter."

Recent matters in which Mr. Brennan has been involved include:

• Representation of a European public company concerning a $100 million acquisition in the US and in the structuring of its distribution network in the United States.
• Advising a major food company in connection with its $50 million acquisition of a specialty food manufacturer.
• Representation of a major European manufacturing and services group concerning its US market entry strategy.
• International licensing and joint ventures for a major American foodservice company.
• Representing a US database licensor in a $5 million purchase in a private placement of shares in a European Internet services provider.
• Joint ventures to develop and operate themed restaurants in East Asia.
• International brand licensing counsel to a major American company in the insurance sector.
• Obtaining a competition law exemption from the Commission of the European Union for an agreement between two public companies, one English and the other American, to build and operate entertainment centers in the United Kingdom.
• Advising representatives of the government of Malaysia on proposed legislation regulating franchising.
• Representation of an American manufacturing company concerning acquisitions in Malaysia and Ireland.
• Advising an American car rental company concerning the revision of its arrangements with its foreign licensees.

PŘIJETÍ

• Illinois

Členství

• Chairman, International Franchising Committee of the International Bar Association
• American Bar Association (Sections of Business Law and International Law, Forum on Franchising)
• ABA International Practice Section
• Former Vice Chairman, Intellectual Property Committee of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association
• Founded and served as the initial chairman, Committee on Franchising and Distribution Law of the International Young Lawyers Association