LEGAL
In the 40 years since the first franchise law was enacted, the law of franchising has grown as rapidly as the business model, resulting in a complex international web of statutes, regulations and cases. According to the International Franchise Association, franchising in the U.S. alone contributes $2.3 trillion in economic output annually.
As the scope and complexity of legal issues for franchisors have grown, there is increased pressure for legal departments to understand and track the legal work being done by outside counsel, while at the same time controlling costs and maintaining compliance.
No longer able to rely on paper files, spreadsheets and basic reports to guarantee consistent results, savvy franchisor legal teams have integrated solutions that enable them to do the work of much larger departments. The latest software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for e-billing, matter management and reporting can track all of the franchise legal work in a single online site, connected to everyone who is involved in each matter or project.
Legal departments at franchise companies often deal with both a wide array and high volume of legal matters. With today's matter management systems, it becomes possible to effectively manage work proactively, increase visibility into the entirety of the company's legal work, decrease the chances of getting blind-sided by unanticipated issues and control legal spend.
Legal departments often save the most time by having otherwise difficult-to-attain information at their fingertips. Bobbie Crew, Paralegal and System Manager at H&R Block, says of their SaaS solution, "We have a great tool for reporting and a huge advantage and timesaver. A report that once took two weeks to create, I can now generate in about 30 minutes." A SaaS system can do more than just automate routine tasks, like invoice approval, sending invoices to A/P and collecting accruals from law firms. E-billing software can systematically analyze and create alerts when law firms go over budget, timekeeper rates are increased and expense guidelines are violated, saving significant legal spend.
In the era of SOX, financial reporting regulations are a primary concern for publicly-traded companies. With the latest matter management systems — which include contract management tools that can restrict access to sensitive documents, e-billing, auditing and powerful reporting tools — legal departments can provide the necessary financial reporting and controls to satisfy SOX requirements. Jamba Juice, which oversees more than 200 franchised stores, began using a SaaS solution in 2004. "For Sarbanes-Oxley and other compliance reasons, we had to find a way to organize everything, not miss renewal deadlines and restrict people's access to only the documents they were entitled to see," said Arlene Graves, Jamba Juice Manager and Corporate Paralegal. Further, according to Michael Fox, former Jamba Juice VP and General Counsel, "Our software lets us retain and access our contracts in a systematic, organized matter."
Patrick Johnson is currently a Marketing Manager for Thomson Reuters Legal Tracker who writes and speaks on legal department management and technology. As a five-year veteran of Thomson Reuters, Pat previously served as an Account and Implementation Manager where he consulted a portfolio of more than 190 corporate law department clients on legal department management using Thomson Reuters' Legal Tracker matter management and e-billing system, as well as consulting clients on-site and conducting trainings and seminars nationwide on the best practices of the top legal departments worldwide. A graduate of University of Virginia School of Law, Pat served as a corporate M&A attorney for five years prior to joining Legal Tracker. Prior to law school, he worked as an IT consultant and financial analyst in California.
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