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ERIC H. KARP, Partner
ekarp@wkwrlaw.com
ERIC H. KARP is a partner in the Boston law firm of Witmer, Karp, Warner
& Ryan LLP.
Mr. Karp serves as counsel to numerous franchisee associations
in such chains as McDonald’s, 7-Eleven, Choice Hotels, Dunkin Donuts,
TCBY Yogurt, Portable On Demand Storage, Fitness Together, Resort Maps, and
Massage Envy. In that capacity, he provides a broad range of advice and
guidance to the leadership of the associations on matters including the
franchise disclosure documents, franchise agreements and issues that affect
the relationship between the franchisee community and the franchisor as
well as vendors and suppliers to the system. He has represented franchisees
throughout the country in a myriad of franchise issues including sales,
purchases, relocations, remodels, transfers, defaults and terminations and
lease issues.
He served on the Board of Directors of the American
Franchisee Association (AFA) for ten years.
Mr. Karp also served as Chair of the AFA Model Responsible Franchise
Practices Act Committee, was the principal author of the Model Act and
served as the Program Chair of the 1999 AFA Franchisee Legal Symposium. Mr.
Karp is a member of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers
(AAFD), is a member of its Fair Franchising Standards Committee and was
Co-Chair of the AAFD 17th Anniversary Conference and Franchisee
Leadership Summit in May 2009.
In June, 1994 Mr. Karp testified before the U.S. House
Small Business Committee on "Self Regulation of Franchising: The IFA
Code of Ethics." An elected delegate to the 1995 White House
Conference on Small Business, Mr. Karp has twice testified before the Joint
Committee on Commerce and Labor of the Massachusetts Legislature on
franchise issues. Mr. Karp also provided advice and assistance to the U.S.
House Judiciary Committee and its staff on proposed federal legislation on
franchising.
Since 1996 Mr. Karp has served on the Franchise
Project Group of the Franchise and Business Opportunities Committee of the
North American Securities Administrators Association. He has four times
been a presenter at the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising,
twice at the International Franchise Association Legal Symposium and an
active participant in the debate over the revision of the Federal Trade
Commission’s Franchise Disclosure Rule. In 2006, Mr. Karp served on
the Nominating Committee of American Bar Association Forum on Franchising
and in September 2008 was appointed Editor-In-Chief of The Franchise
Lawyer.
Mr. Karp has periodically been a guest lecturer at Babson College in its MBA program on
franchising since 1996 and in 2006 served as an Adjunct Professor in the
Entrepreneurship Division. He has
also been selected for inclusion as follows:
·
The
Franchise section of The International Who's Who of Franchise Lawyers
·
The
Franchise section of The Best Lawyers in America
·
As one of the top 100 franchise lawyers in the U.S. in Franchise Times
·
As a New England Super Lawyer by Boston
Magazine
·
As
one of America’s Leading Franchise Lawyers by Chambers USA
He also serves as a member of the Council of Advisors
of the Gerson Lehrman Group, an independent
primary research firm serving business and investment leaders in North
America, Asia and Europe. In that role,
has provided advice and consultation on franchise issues and relationships.
Publications:
·
Privilege
Issues for Franchise Counsel: Recent Developments, American Bar Association Annual Forum on Franchising, 2009
·
Mastering Cooperation and Unity, AAFD 17th
Anniversary Conference and Franchisee Leadership Summit, May 2009.
·
The New FTC Franchise Rule and Keeping
your Association on the Fairway
Re-modeling and Re-imaging in
Today’s Economy, AAFD 16th Anniversary Conference and
Franchisee Leadership Summit, May 2008
·
Restoring the
Status Quo Ante: Rescission and Restitution in Franchising (co-author), American Bar Association Annual Forum on
Franchising, 2007
·
Regulation
FD: A Roadmap To The Promised Land
in Franchisor-Franchisee Communications and Collaboration (co-author), ABA Forum on Franchising Franchise Law Journal,
Winter 2007
·
The New FTC
Rule; Fundamental Change or Fine Tuning? (co-author)American Bar Association Annual Forum on
Franchising, 2005
·
Discriminatory
Treatment of Franchisees (co-author)American
Bar Association Annual Forum on Franchising, 2004
·
Franchisee
Associations See Item 20 Disclosure as One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, Leader's Franchising and Business Law Alert, 2004
·
Franchise
Affiliation: Eyes Wide Open,
Realtor Magazine, August, 2004
·
Franchising:
Once You Start, Can You Stop"
Leader's Franchising and Business Law Alert, 2003
·
Mediation: Is
Everyone on the Same Page?, Franchise
Times, 2001
·
The Case for
Federal Pre-emption, Leader's
Franchising & Business Law Alert, 2000
·
Franchise
Agreement Enforcement and State Relationship Laws, (co-author)International Franchise Association Legal
Symposium, 2000
·
Franchisee
Rights to Freely Associate Bolstered by Legislation and Courts Leader's Franchising & Business Law Alert, 2000
·
How, When and
Why to Form an Independent Franchisee Association AFA Legal Symposium, 1999
·
Marketplace
Monopoly - How, Pizza Franchisers Play the Game, AFA Legal Symposium, 1999
·
Fundamentals of
Pre-Sale Franchise Disclosure, Massachusetts
Continuing Legal Education, 1999
·
Mediation, An
In Depth Analysis, American Bar
Association Annual Forum on Franchising, 1998
·
The Use of
Little FTC Acts in Franchise Relationship Litigation(co-author), International Franchise Association Legal
Symposium, 1998
·
The Formation
of a Franchisee Association,
AFA Legal Symposium, 1998
·
Franchise
Terminations, Transfers and Renewals,
AFA Legal Symposium 1998
·
Franchising, A
Business Alternative, Boston Minority Business
Development Center;
1995
·
Leasing and
Operational Issues in Franchising,
American Franchisee Association Convention, 1995
Mr. Karp has been quoted in
numerous media, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today,
The Boston Globe, Franchise Time, State House News Service, CCH
Business Franchise Guide, Continental Franchise Review, Optometric
Management, Vision Monday, Success Magazine, Smart
Money Magazine, Fortune Small Business Magazine, Realtor
Magazine, Income Opportunities Magazine and Entrepreneur
Magazine.
Mr. Karp co-authors the firm’s
Franchise Law Newsletter, an
informative monthly look at current topics in franchise law.
Mr. Karp is a graduate of Boston
University (B.A.
Political Science 1974) and Boston University School of Law (J.D. 1977).
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