FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770
Jenna Weisbord, 202-662-0766
mhaller@franchise.org
jweisbord@franchise.org
@franchising411
IFA ANNOUNCES REALIGNMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION’S LEGAL RESOURCES
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25—Philip Zeidman, the Association’s long-time General Counsel, has informed IFA President & CEO Robert Cresanti that he will be transitioning his duties to other DLA Piper Partners. Stuart Hershman, an expert in the legislative and regulatory aspects of franchising, will serve as General Counsel and Bret Lowell, a specialist in the corporate governance aspects of IFA and franchising, will serve as Corporate Counsel and also continue as General Counsel to the Franchise Education and Resource Foundation.
DLA Piper and its predecessor law firms have been the General Counsel firm to IFA since its inception 56 years ago, with Zeidman holding the position of General Counsel for most of that time. Between them, Hershman and Lowell have sixty years of experience in franchise law and in serving the needs of the Association. The DLA Piper team will continue to work closely with Elizabeth Taylor, who was recently named IFA’s Chief Legal Officer and Chief of Staff, the IFA Legislative Action Group and IFA Legal-Legislative Committee.
“Phil Zeidman exemplifies the best of franchising and he has received countless awards from IFA and other organizations recognizing his achievements in the practice of law and franchising. Phil has been a trusted counselor to me and we continue to refine that role, which has proven to be of great benefit to the Association,” said IFA President and CEO Robert Cresanti. “As we move forward as an organization, I’ve asked Phil to serve as our International Counsel. He has pioneered the growth of international franchising in developed and developing countries, and it is a subject of growing significance to our members.”
In addition to being instrumental in IFA’s first Legal Symposium and earliest IFA Conventions, he has been honored with IFA’s Educational Foundation’s William Rosenberg Leadership Award in 2013 and most recently was IFA’s first recipient of the IFA Dennis Wieczorek Free Enterprise Award, which honors a person who has contributed extensively to advancing franchising. In 2015, Zeidman was honored for legal writing from the Burton Awards for Legal Achievement, co-sponsored by the American Bar Association with the Library of Congress. Most notably, Who’s Who named him Global Franchise Lawyer of the Year every year since the award was introduced nine years ago.
“It has been one of the great privileges of my life to have been associated with franchising for my entire professional career,” said Philip Zeidman, partner at DLA Piper. “That span of years encompassed the time during which franchising grew from a small and largely unknown method of doing business to one of the most remarkable innovations in the history of marketing, and a familiar presence in the daily lives of people all over the world. The IFA was my first client, and I have treasured the relationship. As I now transfer some of the traditional work to others in the firm, Robert has asked me to expand or assume other roles for the Association and I have gladly agreed to do so.”
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About the International Franchise Association
Celebrating 56 years of excellence, education and advocacy, the International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 733,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 7.6 million direct jobs, $674.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy and 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology and business development.
1900 K St., N.W., Suite 700 Washington, DC 20006 USA
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