On May 6, Chelsea Mikula was a panelist at the International Franchise Association’s (IFA) 57th Annual Legal Symposium in Washington, D.C. The panelists discussed steps franchise systems can take to better protect their organizations from unnecessary legal threats by, for example, creating a culture of ethical business decisions; understanding the importance of communication and transparency; providing franchisee support while not overstepping boundaries; and understanding how to use the Franchise Agreement appropriately. They also addressed things that transactional lawyers and businesspeople frequently overlook and how to ensure that system documentation can properly educate the court when it must.