Franchise/Dealership Law

For many entrepreneurs, franchising is a way to grow an existing business or realize their dream of becoming their own boss. At O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing S.C., we assist clients with a variety of franchise and dealership law matters, including navigating the various issues involved when starting a new franchise business or expanding an existing business operation using a franchise or dealership model. When necessary, our litigation attorneys have successfully handled a wide range of cases dealing with the rights and responsibilities between franchisors/franchisees and dealers/grantors under the intricacies of their contractual agreements and state and federal law.

Our contract lawyers have extensive experience working with franchisees and dealers, evaluating their legal needs to help them establish their business entities and become a franchisee or dealer of a given model. We have also worked with a number of companies to help expand their businesses as a franchisor, including the preparation of all required state and federal filings – such as the Franchise Disclosure Document and Franchise Agreement – or as a grantor, using dealership and distributorship agreements for product manufacturers or service providers.

In addition, our litigation lawyers have extensive experience negotiating and litigating disputes between franchisors or manufacturers and their franchisees, dealers, and distributors. When disputes arise, we work to obtain resolutions that enable the parties to either continue their business relationship – perhaps under new terms – or walk away with concessions that both sides can live with. And if these measures have been unsuccessful, we have litigated disputes brought under the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law and other state franchise, dealer, or distributor laws both in Wisconsin and around the country.

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