Education
University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law, Juris Doctor (1984)
University of California, Los Angeles Bachelor of Arts, (1978)
- Summa Cum Laude
- Phi Beta Kappa
Memberships
- Admitted in California; District of Columbia; U.S. Central District of California; Ninth U.S. Circuit; Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit, U.S. Supreme Court
- American Bar Association
- Forum Committee on Franchising
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- San Fernando Valley Bar Association
- Member, Board of Trustees
Awards
- AV Rating of 5.0 Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell's highest rating awarded by peers of the bar and judiciary for legal ability and ethics.
- Top 25 Attorneys of the Valley by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal
- Southern California Super Lawyer, by Los Angeles Magazine 2005-2012
- One of Southern California's Best Lawyers, as listed in the Best Lawyers 2012 Edition in the Los Angeles Times.
Noteworthy Legal Activities
- San Fernando Valley Bar Association
- President Elect, 2012 - Chair, Business Law Section - Chair, Litigation Section
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- Board of Trustees, 2012
- President, Valley Community Legal Foundation
- Editorial Staff, ABA Franchise Law Journal
- Volunteer Judge Pro Tem, Los Angeles Municipal Court
- Adjunct Professor of Law, University of La Verne College of Law
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David Gurnick, franchise attorney, business lawyer and litigator, is a State Bar of California Specialist in Franchise and Distribution Law, as certified by the Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization.
Mr. Gurnick’s practice group also focuses on licensing, trademarks and copyrights, trade secrets, e-commerce, antitrust and competition matters, and related litigation. California State Bar Certified Specialist in Franchise and Distribution Law, as specified by the Board of Legal Specialization.
Mr. Gurnick represents our Firm's clients in all aspects of franchise and distribution law and has testified as an expert in the field. He authored two texts: Distribution Law of the United States, which discusses laws governing manufacturers and retailers in America, and Franchising Depositions, a treatise on taking and defending depositions in franchising cases.
He was also a contributing co-author of International Franchising, a text on law and strategies for international franchising programs, and co-authored California Franchise Law Jury Instructions, published by Matthew Bender.
Representing our clients in wide-ranging industries, Mr. Gurnick provides counsel, transactional and litigation services to local, national and international companies, some of which include:
- Audio/Visual Retailers
- Automobile & Service Station Dealers
- Building Inspection and Maintenance
- Clothing Manufacturers & Distributors
- Commercial & Residential Movers
- Cooperatives
- Food Products Manufacturers
- Health and Beauty Manufacturers & Distributors
- High-Tech Equipment Manufacturers
- Home Improvement/Repair Franchises
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- Hoteliers
- Personal Care Service Retailers
- Product Importers & Distributors
- Professional Consulting Firms
- Professional Law Practices
- Professional Medical Practices
- Restaurateurs
- Software Developers and Licensors
- Spa Companies
- Travel Agencies
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Mr. Gurnick assists numerous franchisors in registering to offer and sell franchises, structuring to avoid and work around franchising and other legal issues, and negotiating solutions to wide-ranging business challenges. The business lawyer has won millions of dollars of court judgments in litigation and settlements for clients: franchisors, franchisees, manufacturers, distributors, resellers, and policyholders in claims against insurance companies. He represents clients in federal and state courts.
As a franchise attorney, Mr. Gurnick served as an adjunct professor of law, teaching semester courses, as well as a panelist at the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising, International Franchise Association annual Legal Symposium, and California Continuing Education of the Bar. He also served on the editorial board of the American Bar Association Franchise Law Journal, and Franchise Law Committee of the State Bar of California.
Mr. Gurnick currently serves as President-Elect of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association. He has also served previous terms as President, and as Chair of the Association’s Business Law Section, Chair of the Association’s Litigation Section, trustee of the University of West Los Angeles College of Law, President of the Valley Community Legal Foundation, and as trustee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
Admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, he is also admitted before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The business and franchise law attorney is a member of the Bar in California and the District of Columbia.
Publications
- Co-Author, Nine Ways to Avoid Copyright Termination, Part I
- New Matter (official publication of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of California), Volume 37 Number 1, March 2012
- Named, Southern California's Best Lawyers 2012 (Franchise Law)
- The Los Angeles Times, November 2011
- Author, Distribution Law of the United States
- Legal text, Juris Publishing, Inc. August 2011
- Co-Author, Are Baseball Franchises Really Franchises?
- Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 2011
- Author, The Long Reach of Franchise Laws
- Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 2011
- Author, Arbitration Decisions in Franchising Cases - They Go Together
- Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 2011
- Author, Caveat Franchisor
- Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 14, 2007
- Co-Author, A Crack in Arbitration Contracts
- Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 19, 2007
- Co-Author, From the Mouths of Babes: Deposing Children in Civil Suits
- Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 2006
- Co-Author, Avoiding the Franchise Surprise in IP Licensing Agreements
- ABA Intellectual Property Law Newsletter, Winter 2005
- Author, Federal and California Franchise Regulation: An Era Of Change
- Business Law Update, A Publication of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Business & Corporations Law Section, Fall 2005
- Author, Pet Businesses: Not Just All Mom and Pop
- San Fernando Valley Business Journal, May 2005
- Author, Avoiding Accidental Franchises
- Business Law Update, A Publication of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Business & Corporations Law Section, Summer 2004
- Co-Author, Be Prepared – Managing Catastrophic Risks in Franchise Systems
- ABA Franchise Law Journal, Winter 2002
- Author, Franchising Depositions
- 550 page treatise on depositions in franchising litigation published by Juris Publishing, Inc. 2002
- Author, Case History of American Business Franchise
- Oklahoma City Law Review, 1999
- Author, Franchise Law
- ABA “Compleat” Lawyer, 1997
- Author, Getting and Using Insurance to Defend Claims
- ABA Franchise Law Journal, 1996
- Author, Intellectual Property in Franchising: Today’s Domestic Issues
- Oklahoma City Law Review, 1995
- Author, Accountant’s Role in Assisting Franchisors
- CPA Journal, 1992
- Author, Nuts and Bolts of Trademark Registration
- ABA Franchise Law Journal, 1991
- Co-Author, Franchise Law Jury Instructions
- Matthew Bender, 1989
- Author, Introduction to Copyright for Business Practitioners
- Daily Journal Report, 1988
- Co-Author, Minimizing Vicarious Liability of Franchisors for Acts of Franchisees
- ABA Franchise Law Journal, 1987
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