Top 100 U.S. law firm Akerman LLP is pleased to announce that seven of the attorneys in the firm's Franchise and Licensing Sector Team are among the record 276 Akerman lawyers named to The Best Lawyers in America 2023 list.
The annual Best Lawyers list is based on peer review surveys in which more than 100,000 leading lawyers cast nearly 13 million votes on the legal abilities of their peers in their practice areas.
The Akerman franchise lawyers, led by Best Lawyers honorees Kevin Hein and Warren L. Lewis, serve the franchise industry from across practice groups, addressing litigation, corporate, intellectual property, banking, and other issues for the industry, which accounts for nearly 6 percent of the U.S. economy.
The Akerman franchise lawyers named to Best Lawyers are:
- Dale A. Cohen, New York: Franchise Law
- David M. Doney, Tampa: Banking and Finance Law, Corporate Law, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities / Capital Markets Law, Securities Regulation
- Kevin Hein, Denver: Franchise Law
- Daniel Jacobson, Miami: Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Venture Capital Law
- Warren L. Lewis, Washington, D.C.: Franchise Law
- Mark D. Passler, West Palm Beach: Patent Law, Trademark Law
- Robert A. Smith, Washington, D.C.: Franchise Law
About the Franchise and Licensing Sector Team
Akerman has built one of the largest, most creative, and most respected teams of franchise lawyers and professionals in the country.
Akerman offers its franchise and licensing clients a team of lawyers strategically located across the country and resident in cities with significant franchise activity. These lawyers assist franchise companies of all sizes as they confront numerous legal challenges—from federal, state, and international laws and regulations to the protection of trademarks and other intellectual property, to changes in the areas of brand standards, product safety, joint employer, officer and vicarious liability, cybersecurity, encroachment, antitrust, and unfair competition. Akerman lawyers assist clients with all phases of franchising, licensing, and distribution in the United States, and in association with law firms in other countries, around the world.
The Akerman Franchise and Licensing Sector Team assists startup, regional, national, and international franchisors, brand owners and investors, and licensors, as well as subfranchisors, multi-unit franchisees, and other businesses, on a wide range of matters, including structuring, acquiring, and selling individual franchise locations and entire franchise systems; handling state franchise registrations; counseling on state, federal, and international legal compliance matters; managing, negotiating, and documenting international franchise offerings, managing franchise terminations and resolving and litigating or arbitrating disputes. Akerman's franchise client roster includes businesses in a wide range of domestic and international consumer-oriented and business-to-business sectors, from startup franchisors to some of the world’s largest franchise companies spanning various industries, including hospitality, restaurant, healthcare, automotive, retail, cannabis, health and wellness, private equity, and real estate.
About Akerman
Akerman LLP is a top 100 U.S. law firm recognized among the most forward-thinking firms in the industry by Financial Times. Its more than 700 lawyers and business professionals collaborate with the world’s most successful enterprises and entrepreneurs to navigate change, seize opportunities, and help drive innovation and growth.