Informed Guidance for Franchise Businesses
Our multi-disciplinary team provides comprehensive legal support tailored to the unique needs of franchisors, including:
- Franchise System Structuring: Advising on expansion strategies and structuring franchise systems.
- Document Drafting: Drafting franchise agreements, disclosure documents, and compliance programs.
- Litigation Support: Resolving disputes, including class actions, terminations, and enforcement of non-competition covenants.
- Quebec-Specific Advice: Offering specialized guidance for franchising in Quebec.
- Intellectual Property Protection: Securing and licensing trademarks and brand-specific intellectual property.
- Compliance Services: Ensuring compliance with consumer protection, advertising, and privacy legislation.
- Mergers and Acquisitions: Advising on mergers, acquisitions, and taxation matters affecting franchises.
Comprehensive Franchise Solutions
Our team is well-versed in all franchise sectors, including food service, retail, education, hospitality, and commercial services. With a nationwide presence, we draw upon the full breadth of the firm’s expertise to provide tailored solutions for franchisors across Canada.
Notable matters
- Drafting franchise agreements and disclosure documentation for Canadian and U.S. franchisors operating in Canada.
- Drafting master franchise agreements for Canadian master licensees.
- Preparing national disclosure documentation, franchise agreements and providing tax and corporate structuring and compliance advice to new franchisors in Canada, US and internationally.
- “Canadianizing” foreign franchise documentation.
- Representing area developers with their expansion within their territory in Canada.
- Acting for a multi-unit franchisee in establishing Canadian credit facilities for expansion of its Canadian QSR outlets pursuant to its area development rights.
- Assisting a Canadian franchisor with franchise resale issues in the context of the sale by receiver of an insolvent franchisee’s assets.
- Advising a U.S. executive training franchisor with respect to Canadian franchise law, Canadian documentary requirements and the legal requirements for doing business in Canada.
- Advising a major U.S. food service franchisor with regard to its Western Canadian operations and drafted appropriate Canadian documentation to assist in this expansion
- Advising a major Australian food service franchisor with respect to its Canadian expansion plans and drafted appropriate Canadian documentation to assist in this expansion
- Advising a cloud computing business with respect to business structuring and advised through angel and venture capital investment rounds
- Acting as counsel to an international chain of convenience stores for over 30 years on a number of franchising and operating matters in Western Canada, including Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
- Represented Petro-Canada in a class action brought by some of the franchisees. Our involvement also included litigation over close-out disputes, accounting discrepancies (including fraud); injunctions and involuntary termination.
- Negotiating master franchise agreements to assist U.S. based home maintenance franchisors in developing their international expansion plans.
- Pursuing an injunction against a franchisee in breach of its non-competition agreement and restrictive covenants
- Advising a large Canadian franchisor respecting its good faith obligations and its franchisees’ right to associate under provincial franchise legislation
- Assisting a foreign franchisor with deployment of its franchise concept in the province of Quebec
- Successfully defending a franchisor facing a rescission claim by a franchisee
- Administering franchise litigation in the enforcement of restrictive covenants against a competing former master-franchisee
