The 2025 IFA Legal Symposium (May 4-6 in Washington, DC) brings together some of the brightest minds in franchising law, strategy, and leadership — and this year’s speaker lineup is nothing short of exceptional.

From trusted voices in crisis communication like keynote speaker Michael Maslansky to powerhouse legal experts such as Nina Greene, Heather Perkins, and Jorge Mondragon, the IFA Legal Symposium offers a deep dive into the most pressing issues facing the franchise world. With additional insights from industry leaders like Mary Kennedy Thompson, Matt Haller, and FTC Director Chris Mufarrige, this year’s event sets the stage for meaningful dialogue and forward-thinking solutions in franchising’s evolving legal landscape.

Keynote Speaker: Michael Maslansky, CEO, Maslansky & Partners

Michael Maslansky is that political consultant who gets right to the heart of an issue; that lawyer who found a way to be both clear and meticulously accurate; that entrepreneur wizened by boom and bust; that behavioral scientist who deeply understands how the brain works… wrapped into one guy.

Since writing “The Language of Trust” in 2010, Michael Maslansky has become one of the leading experts on reputation and crisis communication in the world. He has served as a senior advisor to Wells Fargo, Kaiser Permanente, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Bank of America, PepsiCo, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer, among others, and has helped industry associations in financial services, energy, and personal care navigate major industry transformations and crises. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia Law School.

General Session: Using the Language of Trust in a World of Skeptics

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Nina Greene, Venable LLP

Nina has represented franchisors in state and federal courts in Florida and throughout the United States and in domestic and international arbitrations. This has involved protection of trademarks and intellectual property (IP) rights, franchise terminations, trade secrets, covenants not to compete, unfair competition, business torts, and many other issues.

Nina is the vice chair of the IFA Legal Symposium Task Force, a former member of the IFA Supplier Forum Advisory Board, and co-chairperson for the South Florida Chapter of the Women’s Franchise Network and Franchise Business Network of the IFA. Nina is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Forum on Franchising, and a former member of the Forum on Franchising’s Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Division. Nina is the former national chairperson for Best Buddies Advisory Boards, an organization that is dedicated to ending the social, physical, and economic isolation of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Nina has spoken on numerous franchise issues, including covenants not to compete and material defaults of franchise agreements, and presented the Judicial Update for the IFA’s Legal Symposium. She co-authored an article for the ABA Franchise Law Journal, “May a Franchisor Veto a Franchisee’s Assumption of a Franchise Agreement in Bankruptcy?” She has also co-authored other franchise-related articles, including “Don’t Stop Me Now: Updating the Current Legal Status of Contractual Provisions Restricting Competition,” “Frequently Arising Issues in Litigation,” “Franchise Defaults: Pulling the Trigger for ‘Material’ Defaults and Strategies for Strengthening the Franchisor’s Case,” “Seeing it Through: Maximizing the Benefits of Insurance in Franchise Disputes,” “Confidentiality Clauses — Scope and Effectiveness,” and “Changes to the Federal Rules on Discovery: Old Wine in New Skins.”

General Session: Franchising 2025: A Fireside Chat with Industry Leaders

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Mary Kennedy Thompson, CEO, BNI; Chair, IFA Board of Directors

With 30 years in franchising, Mary Kennedy Thompson has supported businesses of all sizes and has extensive experience in global expansion, leadership, and integrations. Prior to starting at BNI in 2024, Mary served as Chief Operating Officer at Neighborly, the world’s largest home services company, where she worked since 2006. Her tenure at Neighborly included roles as Executive Vice-President and President of Mr. Rooter.

General Session: Franchising 2025: A Fireside Chat with Industry Leaders

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Matt Haller, President & CEO, IFA

Matt has been a key member of the IFA team for over 12 years, building extensive relationships with all three segments of the IFA membership: franchisors, franchisees, and suppliers. Before being named President and CEO in June of 2021, Matt held a number of roles across the IFA, including Communications Director, Vice President of Public Affairs, Chief of Staff to the CEO and Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, and Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs.

During his tenure as President and CEO, Matt has built on the IFA’s mission to protect, enhance, and promote franchising in new ways while enhancing its organizational structure to ensure success for years to come. Under Haller’s leadership, IFA has seen annual double-digit revenue increases that have led to a significant increase in member value as a result of new programs and services to support franchising. With an eye toward improving the public’s understanding of franchising, IFA commissioned research by Oxford Economics that led to the creation of IFA’s Open for Opportunity campaign, a data-driven reputation campaign designed to teach the public, the media, and policymakers about the positive impacts of franchising and the opportunities provided through this unique business model. Internally, Matt led efforts to realign the IFA Foundation, restructure the IFA’s educational program — the Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) program — to better fit the needs of IFA members, and enhance the IFA member value proposition by meeting members where they are.

As CEO, Matt continues to vigorously defend the franchise business model through IFA’s advocacy, taking on the toughest challenges facing the franchise community in the nation’s capital and across the country. Through the lobbying, coalition building, grassroots, research, and communications capabilities of the IFA, Matt and the IFA government relations team have a longstanding record of protecting franchising. In recent years, they have successfully staved off the joint employer threat, negotiated a major compromise to protect franchise businesses in California, and ensured franchises were eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program and other relief efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Haller is a frequent commentator for national political, business and trade publications, appearing regularly in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, POLITICO and leading trade publications covering the franchise sector.

Prior to joining IFA in October 2010, Matthew was director of industry relations at the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, where he developed PCMA’s member and affiliate initiatives surrounding key industry issues. Previously, he served as manager of political affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he managed the Chamber’s $20 million budget for political and issue advocacy campaigns during the 2004 and 2006 election cycles. Matthew has also held positions as legislative assistant for UPS Corporate Public Affairs and as a director of public affairs at Levick Strategic Communications, LLC.

Matthew received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. He resides in Washington, D.C.

General Session: Franchising 2025: A Fireside Chat with Industry Leaders

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Chris Mufarrige, Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, FTC

Chris Mufarrige served in the first Trump Administration as a Senior Adviser to the Director and Deputy Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, advising on enforcement, rulemaking, and supervisory exams relating to the country’s largest banks and nonbank financial institutions. Most recently, he was Commissioner Melissa Holyoak’s Chief of Staff and Attorney Adviser. He has also worked at private law firms and as an in-house lawyer. In his free time, Mufarrige taught a class on financial services and consumer protection at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School.

General Session: Government Relations Luncheon Fireside Chat with Chris Mufarrige, Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, FTC

Heather Perkins, Partner, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Heather Perkins is a litigation partner in the Denver office of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath. She specializes in complex litigation, with deep experience in franchise and distribution and trade secret advising and litigation. Heather currently serves as an Executive Partner for the firm and served previously as a member of the firm’s board and the managing partner of the Denver office. She is an at-large member of the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising, where she serves as liaison to the Women’s Caucus. She currently serves on the University of Colorado Law Alumni Board and is the immediate past chair of the Colorado Legal Aid Foundation Board of Trustees, for which she served as chair from 2021-2023. She is Chambers ranked in commercial litigation. She previously served as editor in chief of The Franchise Lawyer and as an articles editor and an associate editor for The Franchise Law Journal. Heather graduated with honors from the University of Colorado School of Law, after which she served as a judicial law clerk for a federal judge in Colorado before going into private practice. Prior to law school, she practiced as a CPA in Colorado and Chicago.

Franchise Related Vicarious Liability – Wait, What?

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Megan Center, CFE, Partner, Quarles & Brady LLP

Megan Center is a distinguished attorney who focuses on transactional franchise law, corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). With over a decade of dedicated experience, Megan provides comprehensive, results-oriented legal counsel to franchisors across diverse industries, guiding them through every stage of the franchise lifecycle. Megan advises clients on:

• The strategy and structure of franchise programs, as well as counseling on corporate formation, governance and M&A transactions.
• Preparing and maintaining franchise disclosure documents (FDD.)
• Drafting and negotiating complex franchise transactional documents.
• Ensuring compliance with state and federal franchise regulations.
• Day-to-day franchise system management, including renewal, termination, transfer, supply and relationship issues, and operational changes.
• Franchise system acquisitions and sales, including sales to, or purchases by, private equity.
• Systems designing alternatives to franchising.

As co-chair of the IFA Women’s Franchise Network, Megan is deeply committed to fostering growth and leadership within the franchise industry. She is an active member of the IFA Women’s Committee and the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising.

Megan’s client-centric approach combines strategic legal counsel with a profound understanding of the franchise business model. She is dedicated to proactively addressing legal challenges, helping franchisors mitigate risks and focus on sustainable, long-term growth.

General Session: Judicial Update | Why Should a Transactional Lawyer Care About Litigation?

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Jorge Mondragon, Partner, Perez-Lorca

Jorge is partner of the corporate practice. He brings over 31 years of experience, where he has developed a legal and commercial business-oriented practice with a focus on corporate, commercial, franchising, licensing, distribution, technology, and business retail matters.

His experience includes advising Mexican and foreign clients on the full spectrum of transactions – from start-ups mechanisms to the correct management and operation of their business. His practice also entails compliance, regulatory, corporate and intellectual property aspects required for the implementation of franchise systems and distribution schemes.

Jorge also has vast knowledge of complex corporate and commercial matters, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, strategic alliances and joint ventures, corporate controversies and foreign investments.

In October 2023 Jorge was named Chairman of Multilaw, one of the world’s largest international professional services network of independent law firms. Established in 1990, Multilaw covers over 90 firms across 100 countries. These firms are made up of more than 11,000 lawyers.

General Session: Judicial Update: What’s New in Mexico and Central America?

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Zen Eigen J.D., Ph.D., Senior Director, Data Science, DLA Piper US LLP

Zev Eigen is the Senior Director of data science. In this role, he tests clients’ commercial algorithms for bias and disparate impact in light of regulatory standards and ethical principles.

General Session: Judicial Update: Keeping Up with Current AI Issues & Uses — Oh My!