Akerman Senterfitt Attorneys Honored by Franchise Times as "Legal Eagles"
July 1, 2010
Akerman Senterfitt, one of the top 100 firms in the U.S., announced today that Warren Lee Lewis and Michaele (Shelley) Weatherbie have been honored as "Legal Eagles" by Franchise Times magazine. Both Mr. Lewis and Ms. Weatherbie are shareholders in the firm’s Tysons Corner office and are co-chairs of the firm’s franchising and licensing practice group.
Only 131 franchise attorneys in North America are fortunate enough to be listed as "Legal Eagles." Honorees must be nominated by peers or clients and then selected by the Franchise Times editorial panel. Selection criteria include knowledge, abilities, thoroughness and “going the extra mile for clients”, as are often considered the go-to lawyers and the ethical problem-solvers who are respected by their peers, adversaries and clients alike. For the third year in a row, Franchise Times received twice as many nominations as the previous year, over 800 in all, making editorial decisions all the more selective.
Mr. Lewis and Ms. Weatherbie also have been recognized as global leaders in franchising law by International Who’s Who of Franchise Lawyers. Only 94 franchise attorneys in the U.S. were selected for inclusion and Ms. Weatherbie is one of only 10 women honored in the U.S.
Mr. Lewis has nearly three decades of experience in franchise law, is a member of the Advisory Committee to the Franchise/Business Opportunities Project Group of the North American Securities Administrators Association and has published works on franchising, including his books, Franchises: Dollars & Sense and The Franchise Seller's Handbook. Ms. Weatherbie has nearly two decades of franchise experience, including nearly a decade as General Counsel to national franchise companies, and is often a featured speaker at U.S. and international franchise conferences.
Akerman’s Franchising and Licensing practice group, comprised of members of the Corporate, Litigation and Intellectual Property practices, counsels regional, national and international franchisors across a diverse range of industries on all aspects of franchise law including structuring a new franchise system, FTC Franchise Rule compliance, state franchise registration compliance, franchise relationship issues, intellectual property protection, trademark and copyright issues, Internet advertising, unfair competition, antitrust counseling, litigation, and a wide range of other legal issues.
About Akerman Senterfitt
Akerman is ranked among the top 100 law firms in the U.S. by The National Law Journal NLJ 250 (2009) in number of lawyers and is the largest firm in Florida. With more than 500 lawyers and government affairs professionals, we serve clients from major business centers in Florida, New York, Washington, D.C., California, Virginia, Colorado, Texas, and Nevada. More information can be found at www.akerman.com or www.twitter.com/akerman_llp.
# # #
Contact:
Pat Tucker
RF|Binder Partners, Inc.
(212) 994-7561
Patrick.Tucker@rfbinder.com
Only 131 franchise attorneys in North America are fortunate enough to be listed as "Legal Eagles." Honorees must be nominated by peers or clients and then selected by the Franchise Times editorial panel. Selection criteria include knowledge, abilities, thoroughness and “going the extra mile for clients”, as are often considered the go-to lawyers and the ethical problem-solvers who are respected by their peers, adversaries and clients alike. For the third year in a row, Franchise Times received twice as many nominations as the previous year, over 800 in all, making editorial decisions all the more selective.
Mr. Lewis and Ms. Weatherbie also have been recognized as global leaders in franchising law by International Who’s Who of Franchise Lawyers. Only 94 franchise attorneys in the U.S. were selected for inclusion and Ms. Weatherbie is one of only 10 women honored in the U.S.
Mr. Lewis has nearly three decades of experience in franchise law, is a member of the Advisory Committee to the Franchise/Business Opportunities Project Group of the North American Securities Administrators Association and has published works on franchising, including his books, Franchises: Dollars & Sense and The Franchise Seller's Handbook. Ms. Weatherbie has nearly two decades of franchise experience, including nearly a decade as General Counsel to national franchise companies, and is often a featured speaker at U.S. and international franchise conferences.
Akerman’s Franchising and Licensing practice group, comprised of members of the Corporate, Litigation and Intellectual Property practices, counsels regional, national and international franchisors across a diverse range of industries on all aspects of franchise law including structuring a new franchise system, FTC Franchise Rule compliance, state franchise registration compliance, franchise relationship issues, intellectual property protection, trademark and copyright issues, Internet advertising, unfair competition, antitrust counseling, litigation, and a wide range of other legal issues.
About Akerman Senterfitt
Akerman is ranked among the top 100 law firms in the U.S. by The National Law Journal NLJ 250 (2009) in number of lawyers and is the largest firm in Florida. With more than 500 lawyers and government affairs professionals, we serve clients from major business centers in Florida, New York, Washington, D.C., California, Virginia, Colorado, Texas, and Nevada. More information can be found at www.akerman.com or www.twitter.com/akerman_llp.
# # #
Contact:
Pat Tucker
RF|Binder Partners, Inc.
(212) 994-7561
Patrick.Tucker@rfbinder.com
