Thinking Outside the "Franchise Law" Box: Is Our Area of Law Special? Should It Be?

When one examines the major legal disputes between franchisors and franchisees (e.g., good faith and fair dealing; choice of law, venue, and/or forum; termination issues), one tends to look almost entirely at what "established franchise law" says. However, it is a worthwhile exercise (particu? larly when you find yourself on the opposite side of "established franchise law") to "think outside of the franchise box." By this, we mean that advocates should (1) review how the law generally treats analogous facts in areas other than franchising, and (2) ask whether franchise law is or should be the same. In this article, we illustrate our point via the fable of Mr. X and an