Franchising

Unless you are a franchise attorney, don't decide to set up your won franchise business without consulting one. No matter how skilled you are at doing online research into the technicalities of starting a franchise; no matter how much advise you have been given by other successful franchisees; and no matter how helpful your franchisor is, you need to hire your own franchise attorney before you sign anything, both when starting your business and during your proprietorship.

Ensuring A Fair Contract

Your franchise agreement is nothing more than a contract; it will spell out in legal terms both your rights and obligations as a franchisee, and those of your franchisor. But even a competent contract attorney may not be qualified to give you're the best legal advice concerning your franchise the way a franchise attorney can.

Franchising lives and dies on the ability of franchisees to accurately and consistently duplicate the product or service of the franchisor. Without that consistency, the franchisor will be unable to create the network of businesses that brands the product or service.

Protection of the product's brand is one of the main focuses of a franchising agreement. A franchise attorney will recognize that contractual clauses protecting the franchisor from an incompetent franchisee are not unfair.

An experienced franchise attorney will know immediately if the terms of the franchising contract are abnormal in any way. And a franchise attorney will be able to tell which parts of a contract might be negotiable. But most importantly, a franchise attorney will be a good source of advice on evaluating the franchise opportunity itself, so that you do not enter a franchise agreement with unrealistic expectations.

If You Need To Get Out

You will also have your franchise attorney be your advocate if, for example, you find that the franchisor misrepresented the earnings potential of your franchise, and you need tot resort to litigation to get out of your franchising deal.

There are many sources [http://www.startfranchisehelp.com/Franchise_Attorney/]

through which you can find a good franchise attorney in your area; the American Bar Association has an online Franchising Forum and you can check the website of the International Franchising Association as well.