Certified Specialist,
Franchise & Distribution Law
The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization

Lewitt Hackman

Barry Kurtz is the Chair of the six-attorney Franchise Practice Group at Lewitt Hackman in Encino, California. As a franchise attorney, Mr. Kurtz has represented clients in a wide range of matters, including the review and preparation of domestic and international franchise registration and disclosure documents (FDD), the structuring of franchisors, franchisees, management teams and affiliated companies, work-out arrangements with distressed franchisees in lieu of termination of the relationship, the development and enforcement of system-wide standards, franchisor and franchisee disputes and termination matters, acquisitions and dispositions of franchised and independent units and businesses, beer distribution throughout the United States, commercial real estate leasing and acquisitions, and the development and implementation of regional, national and international franchise expansion programs.

Practical Experience

Mr. Kurtz’s practical hands-on experience includes the development and administration of 22 quick service restaurants as a co-franchisee in a regional food service chain; serving as a founder, officer and director of his franchise system’s franchise advisory council, independent franchisee association and marketing and new products committees; and serving, over a period of years, as outside franchise counsel, chief operating officer, vice president of national and international franchise expansion and general counsel of a national retail franchisor with 100+ units producing in excess of $60 million in annual sales.

Education & Bar Activities

A graduate of UCLA (1970) and Southwestern Law School (1973), Mr. Kurtz has been a member of the American Bar Association Section on Business Law and Forum on Franchising since 1982, and was a member of the International Franchise Association’s Legal/Legislative Committee from 1991 to 1998. In addition, Mr. Kurtz served as an appointed member of the Franchise Law Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of California from 1983 to 1985, 1998 to 2000 and 2011-2013, and was appointed to the State Bar of California Franchise and Distribution Law Advisory Commission for a four year term in 2014. Over the years, Mr. Kurtz has presented programs on franchising and beer distribution law for the American Bar Association, the UCLA Extension School and the Craft Brewers Association. He was also certified as a mediator by Pepperdine University School of Law, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, in June 2001.

Author

Barry Kurtz is a prolific writer on the subject of franchise law. From due diligence to franchise appraisal, his articles are a valuable resource to any franchisee and franchisor. He has been named a Certified Specialist in Franchise and Distribution Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Click here for a list of articles.

Background

Practice Areas: Franchise Law; Franchise Licensing; Franchise Regulation; Franchise Termination; International Franchising; Intellectual Property Licensing; Trademark Licensing; Business Law; Buying and Selling of Businesses; Commercial Law.

Admitted: 1973, California and U.S. District, Central District of California; 1974, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California; 1978, U.S. Supreme Court

Law School: Southwestern Law School, J.D., 1973
College: University of California at Los Angeles, B.A., 1970

Member: San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County, American (Member: Section on Antitrust Law; Forum Committee on Franchising, 1982-) and International (Member, Section on Business Law-International Franchising)  Bar Associations, 1983-1986; State Bar of California (Member: Corporation, Banking and Business Law Section; Franchise Law Committee, Business Law Section, 1983-1986, 1998-2000, 2011-2013); International Franchise Association (Member, Legal/Legislative Committee, 1990-1998).

Biography: Note and Comment Editor, Southwestern University Law Review, 1972-1973. Lecturer: American Bar Association, Forum Committee on Franchise, Fundamentals of Franchising Program, 1987-1988; University of California at Los Angeles Business and Management Extension Education, Fast Food and Restaurant Management, 1988-1989.

Lewitt Hackman

Articles and Blog Posts By Barry Kurtz

• The Leap of Faith: Buying a Franchisor

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