Franchise Attorney and Expert Witness

Franchise Foundations, APC - Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D.

Franchise Foundations, APC - Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D.4157 23rd Street
San Francisco, California 94114
USA

Contact: Mr. Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D.
Tel: (800) 942-4402

 Website: www.franchisefoundations.com
 Email: Send an email

Expert Witness - Litigation Support - Speaker Bureau


Franchise attorney Kevin B. Murphy is an international franchise expert witness, San Francisco franchise attorney lawyer, author and instructor. In franchise lawsuits and franchise litigation, Mr. Murphy's extensive knowledge of custom, practice and standard of care in the franchise industry coupled with his teaching skills, create a most favorable demeanor in franchise deposition and trial testimony. His experience as a past franchise owner in a successful home improvement franchise gives him a direct and balanced perspective.

Services

Franchise Foundations provides the following franchise services:

Strategic Planning
- Franchise vs. License (Franchising vs. Licensing)
- Organizational Planning
- Competitive Analysis
- Structuring Relationships
- Positioning
- Capitalization & Auditing Issues

Legal, Operational and Marketing Materials
- Franchise Disclosure Documents
- Franchise Agreements
- Franchise Registrations
- License Agreements
- Trademark & Service Mark Registration Advice
- Trade Secret Protection Programs
- Franchise Operations Manuals
- Franchise Policy Manuals
- Franchise Training Programs
- Training Program Testing
- Franchise Marketing Materials
- Psychological Profile Questionnaires

Implementation and Continuing Education Programs
- Franchise Management Training in Operating Franchise Companies
- Franchise Marketing Programs
- Lead Processing Systems
- Sales Control Systems
- Legal Compliance Programs
- Negotiating With Franchise Buyers
- Reviewing & Updating Manuals
- Reviewing & Updating Training Programs
- Establishing Franchise Advisory Councils

Services for Evaluating Franchise Investments
- Personal Franchise Profiles
An in-depth personal evaluation of your background and personality to see if franchising is appropriate
- Franchise Finder (sm)
A comprehensive list of franchise companies in a particular category
- Franchise Checker (sm)
An in-depth investigation and analysis of a specific franchise company
- FDD Evaluator (sm)
A more streamlined review of a franchise company's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and contract
- Franchise Research and Reporting
On topics of interest to individuals, companies and law firms


Litigation Support Services

Franchise Attorney Kevin B. Murphy's experience shows that competent, informed franchise expert testimony can strengthen the case, and in some instances, make or break a case. This is particularly so in franchise litigation cases and franchise lawsuits where jurors and arbitrators usually have little knowledge of the nature and background of franchise relationships, franchise disclosure and registration laws, franchise disclosure documents or the custom and practice within the franchise industry. A franchise expert can also assist in the strategic planning of a franchise lawsuit, the discovery process as well as presenting credible, unbiased testimony that supports and validates the case.


Areas of Expertise:


Profile

Franchise attorney lawyer and franchise expert witness, MBA, Kevin B. Murphy, known in the industry as Mr. Franchise, helps resolve franchise disputes and franchise litigation as a noted franchise expert and practicing franchise attorney. Twenty-nine years of successful franchise expert research, consulting and advice, including deposition and trial testimony in franchise disputes and franchise litigation covering all aspects of franchise relationships, franchise disclosure documents (franchise offering circulars), franchise custom and practice and standard of care in the franchise industry, franchise agreements, regulatory compliance, franchise earnings claims, territorial encroachment, franchise marketing materials, advertising funds, intellectual property, franchise operations manuals, training programs, franchise support issues, franchising vs. licensing and organizational development.

In franchise lawsuits, Mr. Murphy's extensive decades of franchise industry background, coupled with his teaching skills, create a most favorable demeanor in deposition and trial testimony. In consulting with franchise litigation attorneys, he develops arguments and strategic approaches that are quoted verbatim by arbitrators in reaching their decision. Mr. Murphy has testified as a franchise expert in courts as well as numerous franchise arbitration proceedings.

In consulting with emerging and existing franchise companies for over two decades, Mr. Murphy brings a wealth of proactive strategies and techniques, designed to make franchise development and expansion programs effective and avoid future franchise litigation difficulties. Mr. Murphy's experience as a past franchise owner gives him a unique and balanced perspective. Particularly in franchising, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of lawyers."

Snapshot of Recent Franchise Expert Litigation Cases:

Nagrampa v. MailCoups Inc. and The American Arbitration Association - United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Argued and Submitted En Banc). Summary: provided franchise expert strategy and consulting in a case that established new franchise law by invalidating the standard arbitration provision in a California franchise agreement on the grounds it was unconscionable.

Swansons Cleaners, et al. (Superior Court jury trial). Summary: provided franchise expert consulting that re-focused the legal issues and discovered new causes of action. Testified at deposition and trial for a franchisee in its claims against the franchise company. Result: jury verdict in favor of the franchisee for $1.6 million in punitive damages and $634,000 in contract, etc. damages.


Licenses

Active Member of the State Bar of California


Professional Experience

Franchise Foundations, APC
Director of Operations & Mr. Franchise
Directed assignments in franchise development, market research, publishing and management training for firms launching or engaged in local, regional and national franchise and licensing expansion programs. Also assisted individuals, law firms and other business entities evaluate and negotiate franchise, license and intellectual property investments.

Interior Door Replacement Company
Franchise Owner, 2002-2003
Established and launched an interior door replacement company franchise in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA. Responsibilities included site location, lease negotiation, build out of 7,000 sq. ft. warehouse and showroom, business start up, hiring and supervising employees, production and quality control, management, marketing, financial control and franchisor-franchisee relations.

On Line Microcenters
Senior Counsel
Organized all franchise department functions and instructed staff attorneys in the preparation of Franchise Offering Circulars, agreements, registration applications and protecting intellectual property assets.

Expansion Systems
Director of Legal Services
Completed franchise development projects for firms including franchise feasibility studies, strategic planning, legal documentation, registration applications, protecting trademarks, service marks and trade secrets, drafting operations manuals, training programs, field support, and marketing materials.


Legal Experience & Services

Franchise Attorney lawyer MBA, Kevin B. Murphy, has decades of experience as a San Francisco franchise attorney, franchise expert in the franchise industry. As a franchise attorney, author, consultant, instructor and former franchise owner, known in the industry as Mr. Franchise, he has advised hundreds of potential franchise buyers and assisted an equal number of franchisors (both new and established) in local, regional and national franchise development and how to franchise a business expansion programs. Mr. Murphy, a former franchise owner of a very successful home improvement franchise, has first-hand experience in the dynamics of franchise relationships, and has drafted, reviewed and negotiated over 500 franchise disclosure documents.


Affiliations

1993 to present - Approved MCLE (Minimum Continuing Legal Education) Provider by the State Bar of California in
teaching franchise law & franchise vs. licensing courses (including protection of intellectual property assets - trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, franchising vs. licensing etc.) to California attorneys.


Qualifications

Decades of successful franchise expert research, consulting and advice, including deposition and trial testimony, on all aspects of franchise relationships, contracts, offering circulars, intellectual property, marketing, operations, field support, as well as custom, practice and standard of care in the franchise industry.

In franchise litigation, Mr. Murphy's extensive background coupled with his publishing and teaching skills, create a most favorable demeanor in deposition and trial testimony. In consulting with litigation attorneys in franchise lawsuits, his review of the case often develops arguments or strategic approaches that were never considered. His arguments and case interpretation have been quoted verbatim by arbitrators in reaching their decisions. Mr. Murphy's experience as a past franchise owner gives him a direct and balanced perspective.


Awards & Honors

Selected as the premier U.S. franchise expert by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations to speak at Singapore's World Conference about developing uniform franchise regulations based on the U.S. regulatory model.

Selected as the premier U.S. franchise expert by the Jordan Intellectual Property Association to speak at their franchise symposium in Amman, Jordan in 2008.


Seminars & Training

Academic Lecturer - Franchising & Licensing
-- San Francisco State University: Graduate School of Business - M.B.A. Program
-- De Anza College: School of Business - Business Admin. Program
-- Menlo College - School of Business
-- University of San Francisco - School of Business

Business Lecturer - Franchising
-- International Franchise Association
-- World Intellectual Property Organization of Geneva, Switzerland at Singapore's World Franchising Conference
-- Jordan Intellectual Property Association, Amman, Jordan - Lecturer on Franchising


Publications

Author of more than 40 publications, including 4 books on franchising and 1 book on trade secrets:

Avoiding Legal Pitfalls In Franchise Marketing
2009, Franchise Foundations Press

Franchise Sales Control
2009, Franchise Foundations Press

Effective Franchise Marketing
2009, Franchise Foundations Press

Implementing a Franchise Disclosure Compliance Program
2009, Franchise Foundations Press

Protecting Trade Secrets
2002, Franchise Foundations Press

The Franchise Handbook: A Complete Guide to All Aspects of Buying, Selling or Investing in a Franchise
2006, Atlantic Publishing Company


Articles Published on HGExperts.com


Professional References

Mario Herman, Esq.
5335 Wisconsin Avenue N.W
Suite 440
Washington D.C. 20015
(202) 686-2886
email: mherman@franchise-law.com


Education

San Francisco State University
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Concentration: International Business

University of San Francisco
Juris Doctor of Law
Active member of the CA Bar

University of San Francisco
Bachelor of Science
Business Administration


Consulting Practice:

All States


More Information:

About Attorney Kevin B. Murphy, Expert Witness
Franchise Attorney - Expert Witness
Franchise Disclosure Document Expertise, Litigation Support
Franchise Expert Witness
Buying a Franchise Legal Consultant
How To Franchise A Business