How can I find a solicitor who specialises in franchising?

The solicitor who advises you on your general commercial issues, or even worse, a solicitor who has done your conveyancing or your divorce would not, under any circumstances, be the right person to use. So the golden rule is never use a solicitor who is not a true expert in franchising.  Your starting point should be the list of affiliated lawyers that is contained on the British Franchise Association’s website (www.thebfa.org). It contains all the lawyers who have franchising experience, but bear in mind that some have more experience than others.  The general view is that those who are listed are certainly able to review a franchise agreement for a prospective franchisee, but only a smaller group consisting of past or present members of the legal committee and a few others have sufficient expertise and experience to prepare a franchise agreement for you.  Further, you need to ask around to make sure that the approach of your prospective solicitor is the sort of approach with which you are comfortable and, of course, most importantly, that his costs are reasonable. Never instruct solicitors without knowing how much they are going to charge.