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Stuart Hershman

Partner

stuart.hershman@dlapiper.com

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203 North LaSalle Street, Suite 1900
Chicago, Illinois 60601-1293
United States
T: +1 312 368 2164 F: +1 312 630 7344

Stuart Hershman has focused his practice for roughly 25 years in the franchising, general dealership and distribution, and antitrust areas. He has structured, documented, and helped implement hundreds of franchise programs, dealership and distribution relationships, and intellectual property licensing arrangements in multiple industries. He also has engaged in antitrust counseling, particularly in pricing, supply, and other dealership and distribution matters, for public and private companies.

Mr. Hershman counsels companies on the whole spectrum of franchise, dealership, and distribution law, including structuring new franchise programs and restructuring existing franchise programs; structuring dealership and distribution relationships; re-branding franchise systems; terminating and renewing franchise relationships; establishing the business parameters of the franchise program (including supply and distribution relationships); re-structuring franchise organizations and preparing franchise documents in the context of royalty securitizations and counseling various participants in the franchise royalty securitization process; assessing the applicability of federal and state franchise and business opportunity laws and, where appropriate, structuring dealership and distribution relationships to avoid coverage by these laws; trouble-shooting with state franchise regulatory agencies; preparing franchise, dealership, and distribution agreements and franchise disclosure documentation; preparing financial performance representations (f/k/a "earnings claims"); complying with applicable franchise registration and disclosure laws; establishing franchise legal compliance programs; preparing franchise legal compliance guides and conducting franchise legal compliance training sessions; working through the transfer process; counseling companies in the trademark area; assisting clients in expanding internationally; counseling clients in buying and selling franchise companies and investing in franchise companies; and counseling on dispute resolution.

Mr. Hershman has authored and co-authored, or contributed to, numerous publications, articles and seminar materials on franchising and antitrust. He has spoken at the International Franchise Association's Annual Legal Symposium, Legal Roundtables, Business Roundtables, and Certified Franchise Executive programs, the American Bar Association's Forum on Franchising, and other franchise law-related meetings and training sessions.

Mr. Hershman currently is or has been listed in the following:

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business
International Who's Who of Franchise Lawyers
Franchise Times "Legal Eagles"
Leading Lawyers Network - The Top Lawyers
Illinois Super Lawyers
Best Lawyers in America
Who's Who Legal: The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers

Admissions

Illinois
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Memberships

American Bar Association
ABA Antitrust Section
ABA Forum on Franchising

Activities

Member of International Franchise Association Supplier Forum Advisory Board (February 2011-Present) (served as Alternate from February 2010-February 2011)
Member of 2010 Nominating Committee for ABA Forum on Franchising Governing Committee
Member of Illinois Attorney General Illinois Franchise Advisory Board (2009-Present)

Publications

Co-author, "Annual Franchise and Distribution Law Developments 2011," American Bar Association Forum on Franchising (October 2011)
Co-editor, "Financial Performance Representations: The New and Updated Earnings Claims." American Bar Association Forum on Franchising (October 2008)
Co-author, "Historical Development of Earning Claims (Now Financial Performance Representations) Regulations," American Bar Association Forum on Franchising (October 2008)
Co-author, "Structuring the Franchise Relationship" chapter for the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising's Fundamentals of Franchising book (September 2008)
Author, "The Disclosure Process - Uncertainties, Ambiguities and Unresolved Issues," Franchising World (May 2008)
Author, "United States" chapter for International Encyclopedia of Franchising, Kluwer Law International (2002)
Author, "Revisiting the Robinson-Patman Act in the Franchise Supply Setting," 16(2) Franchise L.J. (Fall 1996)
Co-author, "Information and Switching Costs in the Franchise Context: Does Kodak Affect Franchisors Complying with the New Uniform Franchise Offering Circular Guidelines?" 1 International Franchise Association's Franchise Legal Digest 33 (1995)
Author, "The Bona Fide Wholesale Price: How Safe Is This Harbor?" 3 International Franchise Association's Franchise Legal Digest 5 (1994)
Co-author, "Supreme Court Breathes Life Into Derivative Market Tying Claims: Do Franchisors Face New Risks?" International Franchise Association's Franchise Legal Digest (Summer/Fall 1992)
Co-author, "Federal Antitrust and Trade Regulation Law: Problems and Concerns in Franchising," Business Laws Inc. (December 1991)

Seminars

Presenter, "Annual Franchise and Distribution Law Developments 2011," American Bar Association Forum on Franchising Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland (October 2011)
Teleseminar, "Avoiding the Accidental Franchise Malpractice Traps," ABA Business Law Section, Forum on Franchising, and the ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education (April 2010)
Presenter, "Selling Franchises Without Getting into Trouble" and "Administering a Franchise Program: Compliance Programs and Goals," 2009 West Coast Franchise Expo, Los Angeles, CA (November 2009)
Presenter, "Bringing A Foreign Franchise System to the United States," ABA Forum on Franchising Annual Meeting, Toronto, Ontario (October 2009)
Presenter, "Complying with the Updated and Upgraded FTC Franchise Rule - Lessons Learned," IFA 41st Annual Legal Symposium, Washington, DC (May 2008)
Presenter, "Basics of Franchise Registration and Disclosure," IFA 40th Annual Legal Symposium, Washington, DC (May 2007)
Presenter, "Earnings Claims-A Practitioner's Approach," IFA 38th Annual Legal Symposium, Washington, DC (May 2005)
Presenter, "Relatively Painless Disclosure Regulation Compliance," IFA 35th Annual Legal Symposium, Washington, DC (May 2002)
Presenter, "Problems in Supplying the System," ABA Forum on Franchising Annual Meeting, Colorado Springs, Colorado (October 1997)
Presenter, "Implementing System Changes," IFA 30th Annual Legal Symposium, Washington, DC (May 1997)
Presenter at numerous IFA Legal Roundtables, Business Roundtables, and Institute of Certified Franchise Executive programs