Robert A. Lauer

As co-chair of our Franchise and Distribution Practice Group, Rob Lauer devotes 100 percent of his practice to domestic and international franchise matters. Rob is extremely active on the ABA’s Forum on Franchising as an editor, writer, and speaker at Forum events, and is currently serving on the Forum’s governing committee through August 2025. Rob also currently serves as a committee member on the IBA’s International Franchising Committee through 2024.

Large and small/startup franchisors turn to Rob for advice on their most important and complex transactional matters, including:

• Structuring domestic and international franchise offerings
• Complying with domestic and international franchise disclosure and registration requirements
• Negotiating franchise and related agreements around the world
• Analyzing and resolving pre-litigation franchise disputes
• Structuring supply chain programs and preparing and negotiating supplier and vendor agreements for franchise systems
• Performing and defending due diligence reviews involving mergers and acquisitions of franchise companies

Rob’s restaurant and hospitality clients benefit from his prior experience as an in-house franchise and litigation attorney for a large public restaurant franchisor and operator. He is recognized in both Chambers USA, 2012-2024 and Chambers Global, 2011-2024 (Chambers and Partners), as well as in The Best Lawyers in America, 2008-2025 (Woodward/White, Inc.) for his experience in both domestic and international franchising.