Jenkens & Gilchrist

www.jenkens.com

AUSTIN CHICAGO DALLAS HOUSTON LOS ANGELES
PASADENA SAN ANTONIO WASHINGTON, DC

Los Angeles

Jonathan Solish, shareholder and co-chair of the firm's Franchise & Distribution Law practice group, represents franchisors in commercial disputes, with a particular emphasis on class actions and system-wide disputes. He has spoken to legal and business audiences at more than twenty national conventions. He has served as Associate Editor and Editor-in-Chief of the Franchise Law Journal and served on the steering committee of the ABA Forum Committee on Franchising Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution. He has handled franchise disputes in more than 30 states and has more than 25 favorable reported decisions on behalf of franchisors.
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Kenneth Costello, shareholder and co-chair of the firm's Franchise & Distribution Law practice group, has a national practice and over 27 years experience in U.S. and international franchise, intellectual property, and mergers and acquisitions matters. He is honored in the prestigious International Who's Who of Franchise Lawyers as one of the "most highly regarded" lawyers worldwide, and by Los Angeles Magazine as a 2006 Franchise "Super Lawyer". He has testified on franchise trade regulation issues before the FTC and has been consulted by local and national media on franchising issues, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CBS News, Forbes, Entrepreneur and SkyRadio. He serves on the IFA's Franchise Supplier Forum Advisory Board and its Legal, Legislative and Membership Committees; on the ABA Forum on Franchising; California State Bar Franchise Specialization Committee; and on the Board of Editors of Leader's "Franchising Business & Law Alert" and Andrew's "Franchise & Distribution Litigation Reporter."
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Joel Siegel, shareholder, handles commercial litigation in federal and state courts as well as through alternative conflict resolution techniques including the franchise, petroleum and hospitality industries. He also counsels clients in various franchise matters including the formation of franchise systems, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, debt financings, and franchise regulation compliance. Mr. Siegel has successfully represented private and publicly held companies in numerous trademark, shareholder derivative, competition, antitrust, fraud, advertising, termination, encroachment and standards enforcement cases across the country. He has served as Chair of the State Bar of California, Franchise Law Committee, Business Law Section and has authored several published matters on franchise law. Mr. Siegel is a member of the ABA Forum on Franchising;; and IFA Council of Franchise Suppliers.
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Glenn Plattner, shareholder, handles franchise and related commercial litigation, including assisting franchisors in termination proceedings, enforcement of contractual terms, such as covenants not to compete and protection of trademarks and trade secrets. He has tried cases in both State and Federal Court, as well as numerous appeals, arbitrations and mediations. He has a number of opinions on his cases published by the Ninth Circuit, the California Court of Appeals and the Business Franchise Guide. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association, and State Bar of California Franchise Law Committee (co-chair, 2001-2004).
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Keith Klein, shareholder, focuses his practice on litigation primarily in the areas of franchise and distribution law, trademark, copyright, trade secrets, and real estate. Mr. Klein's franchise expertise includes litigating issues regarding the applicability of the California Franchise Investment Law to international franchise sales, the enforcement of quality assurance procedures, and the enforcement of franchise development obligations. Mr. Klein also provides services regarding Internet intellectual property licensing and e-commerce. He is a member of the American Bar Association's Forum on Franchising, the California State Bar Association and Los Angeles County Bar Association.
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Anthony Marks, shareholder, focuses his practice on counseling clients in a broad range of franchise and corporate transactional matters. He counsels clients on domestic and international franchising, mergers and acquisitions, financing, Internet related intellectual property licenses and e-commerce, and routine corporate transactional matters.. Mr. Marks is a member of California State Bar's Franchise Law Committee, American Bar Association's Forum on Franchising, and Los Angeles County Bar Association.
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Brian H. Cole, counsel, focuses his practice on franchise and distribution law. He has over 20 years experience in representing franchisors in transactional and regulatory matters including acquisitions and divestitures, negotiation of franchise agreements, franchise registration, operational advice, and real estate development. He is Vice-Chair of the California State Bar's Franchise Law Committee and a member of the American Bar Association's Forum on Franchising.
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Natasha A. Bellroth, associate, focuses her practice on commercial litigation and franchise and distribution law. Ms. Bellroth is a member of the California State Bar Association.
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Andrew Chereck, associate, focuses his practice on franchise and distribution law. Mr. Chereck is a member of the California State Bar Association and Los Angeles County Bar Association.
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Ryan Fischbach, associate, focuses his practice on commercial litigation and franchise & distribution law. He has experience in a wide-array of franchise and commercial disputes, including recently assisting an aircraft distributor in obtaining a multimilliondollar arbitration award. He has represented franchisors in a variety of actions, from breach of contract to enforcement of non-competition provisions. He is a member of Los Angeles County Bar Association and the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising.
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Benazeer Roshan, associate, focuses her practice primarily on commercial litigation and franchise and distribution law. She is a member of Women's Franchise Network of Southern California, Los Angeles County Bar Association and Beverly Hills Bar Association.
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Houston

Christopher M. Brown, shareholder, handles general commercial litigation for small business and major corporate clients. He specializes in real estate disputes and litigation involving distribution of products and services. He represents a variety of franchisor clients in disputes with their franchisees. This experience, coupled with his knowledge of real estate matters makes him uniquely qualified to counsel franchisor clients on the various lease hold issues so often included in the transfer or termination of a franchise relationship. He is a member of the Texas Bar Foundation, Houston Bar Association, Texas Association of Defense Counsel, and ABA Forum on Franchising.
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Clay Steely, shareholder, specializes in commercial and real property litigation. He has represented franchisors in cases involving vicarious liability, forcible entry and detainer, breach of contract, deceptive trade practices, misrepresentation and fraud issues surrounding Uniform Franchise Offerings Circulars, and franchise agreements. He is a contributing author to SMU Law Review - Franchise Law Update, member of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel, American Bar Association and Texas Bar Foundation.
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Washington, DC

Tina Sharma, shareholder, practices in immigration law with particular emphasis on business immigration for the technology industry. She also advises clients on immigration issues related to franchises. She was formerly lead in-house immigration counsel for a major technology company of over 9,000 employees. Her experience includes immigration consequences of major corporate reorganizations, mergers, layoffs and name changes; public access and I-9 program improvement; consular processing; H-1s; L-1s; political asylum; defense of removal; international adoptions; and family-based immigration cases. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, American Bar Association, Maryland State Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, The Association of American Lawyers from the Indian Subcontinent and The Network of Indian Professionals.
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