RUPERT M. BARKOFF is Chairman of the Franchise Team at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, and specializes in the practice of franchise law. A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, he received his B.A. degree from the Universityof Michigan in 1970, graduating with high distinction, and received his J.D. degree, graduating magna cum laude in 1973, from the Universityof Michigan Law School where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and Articles Editor of the Michigan Law Review.
Mr. Barkoff served as Chair of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising from 1989 to 1992, and as its immediate Past Chair from 1992 to 1995. He is co-creator and co-editor-in chief of Fundamentals of Franchising (1st, 2nd and 3rd editions). Mr. Barkoff has been an active member of the American Bar Association and served as a member of the Industry Advisory Committee to the North American Securities Administrators Association's Franchise and Business Opportunities Project Group. He is also a former Chair of the Georgia State Bar's Franchise Committee. Mr. Barkoff is a member of the editorial board of LJN's Franchising Business & Law Alert, and a columnist for the New York Law Journal, and has testified twice before Congressional committees. He has published over 250 articles on franchise law and has been recognized as one of the country's leading franchise attorneys by The Best Lawyers in America, the International Who's Who of Franchise Lawyers, and Chambers USA. He was the second recipient of the Forum on Franchising's Lew Rudnick Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his position at the law firm, he now serves as an adjunct professor at the Universityof Georgia Law School and as a guest lecturer at Georgia State University's Business School.
JOSEPH J. FITTANTE, JR. is a Shareholder in the Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren Ltd. law firm where he is a member of Larkin Hoffman’s Franchise and Distribution Practice Group. He advises start-up and mature franchisors on all aspects of the franchise relationship, including structuring the franchise relationship, registration and disclosure, dealing with state and federal regulators, and terminating the franchise relationship. He served as the Chair of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising from 2011-2013. He also served as a member of the Forum Governing Committee from 2007 to 2015, and co-chaired the Forum’s 2008 Annual Meeting held in Austin, Texas. He has been selected numerous times as one of “The Best Lawyers in America” by the Best Lawyers in America, the oldest peer-review publication in the legal profession and as a “Leader in Franchise Law” by Chambers USA. Mr. Fittante has also been named in the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers on various occasions and was named one of the pre-eminent practitioners in the Guide to the World’s Leading Franchising Practitioners.
RONALD K. GARDNER is the Managing Partner of the firm of Dady & Gardner, P.A., and limits his practice to the representation of franchisees, franchisee associations, dealers and distributors, focusing most frequently on his clients’ disputes with their franchisors, manufacturers and suppliers. Dady & Gardner, P.A. has an international reputation for helping their franchisee, association, dealer and distributor clients to resolve their disputes through negotiation, mediation, and when necessary, litigation and arbitration.
Mr. Gardner is a member of the American, Minnesota, Hennepin County and Rice County Bar Associations, an active member of the ABA Forum on Franchising, and a Past Chair of the Forum (and still the ONLY “franchisee lawyer” to ever be elected as the Chair). He is also a member of the Industry Advisory Committee to the North American Securities Administrator Association Franchise and Business Opportunities Project Group which helps to promulgate franchise regulations and train state franchise regulators in the nuances of franchise law. He is an author and a highly sought-after lecturer on topics related to franchise/distribution law. He is listed as a Best Lawyer in America, has been named one of Minnesota’s Top 100 Super Lawyers for the last six years, and has been recognized by Chambers USA as “the premier franchisee lawyer” in America. He was recently recognized as “Franchise Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers for 2015.
