Rupert Barkoff has been practicing franchise, distribution and corporate law since 1973. His franchise practice emphasizes solutions to registration and structuring issues and developing individual and collective solutions to franchisor-franchisee relationship problems.
During the course of his career, Mr. Barkoff has represented numerous start-up, national and regional franchisors in establishment and operation of their franchise systems. He has negotiated encroachment policies, counseled clients on the establishment and operation of purchasing cooperatives, and acted as mediator and arbitrator in the resolution of franchisor-franchisee disputes. He is also the Founder of the Franchise Law Institute, a newly formed group whose purpose is to study franchise law throughout the world.
Mr. Barkoff was recognized as one of the country’s leading franchise attorneys by The Best Lawyers in America® in 2015 and the 14 years immediately preceding, as well as the 2011 Franchising Attorney of the Year in Atlanta. In 2010, he received the prestigious Lew Rudnick Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Bar Association's Forum on Franchising. He received top ranking nationally in the 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for Franchising, and he was listed as Tier 1 in the 2011 and 2012 editions. Mr. Barkoff was ranked as a leading practitioner for franchising globally by Chambers Global 2013 and 2014. He was named a Georgia "Super Lawyer" in the area of Franchise/Dealership in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014 by Super Lawyers magazine. Mr. Barkoff was named a “Most Highly Regarded Individual for Franchise” by The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers for 2006, ranking #9 globally. This peer-nominated distinction is based upon a comprehensive and independent survey of both general counsel and private practice attorneys worldwide. He was also named to The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers for Franchise in 2013 and 2014. Mr. Barkoff has been named a "Legal Eagle" for 11 consecutive years by Franchise Times and in 2013, he was inducted into its Legal Eagles Hall of Fame. Mr. Barkoff is AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell.* He was recently referred to in the Chambers Global as the "godfather of franchise law."
Mr. Barkoff has published over 250 articles on franchise law, and is the Editor-in-Chief of Fundamentals in Franchising, which is used to teach novices about the intricacies of franchise law. He has testified before Congress on franchise law issues and is a columnist for the New York Law Journal. Mr. Barkoff has spoken at major franchise law seminars for over 30 years, as well as at numerous colleges and law schools. He served as Chair of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising for three years and was a member of its governing committee for nine years.
