Kilpatrick Townsend’s Rupert Barkoff and Chris Bussert Named to 2011 International Who’s Who of Franchise Lawyers

ATLANTA (December 9) – Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton announced today that partners Rupert Barkoff and Chris Bussert earned recognition in The International Who’s Who of Franchise Lawyers for 2011. Mr. Barkoff was also selected as one of the five most highly regarded franchise lawyers in the world. 

This peer-nominated distinction is based upon a comprehensive and independent survey of both general counsel and private practice attorneys worldwide. The publication notes that Mr. Barkoff is “in the front rank of lawyers internationally in this discipline.”  Mr. Bussert is described as a “talented disputes specialist.”

Mr. Barkoff has been practicing franchise, distribution and corporate law since 1973. His franchise practice emphasizes solutions to registration and structuring issues and developing individual and collective solutions to franchisor-franchisee relationship problems.

Mr. Barkoff was recognized as one of the country’s leading franchise attorneys by The Best Lawyers in America^® in 2012 and the 11 years immediately preceding, as well as the 2011 Franchising Attorney of the Year in Atlanta. In 2010, he received the prestigious Lew Rudnick Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Bar Association's Forum on Franchising. Mr. Barkoff was one of only seven attorneys nationwide to receive the top ranking for franchise law in the 2009 and 2010 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for Franchising and he was listed as #1 in the 2011 edition. Mr. Barkoff was named a Georgia "Super Lawyer" in the area of Franchise/Dealership in 2008, 2009 and 2010 by SuperLawyers magazine.  He has been named a "Legal Eagle" for eight consecutive years by Franchise Times. 

For more information about Mr. Barkoff, please visit: ttp://www.kilpatricktownsend.com/en/Who_We_Are/Professionals/B/BarkoffRupertM21.aspx

Mr. Bussert has more than 25 years of experience in helping clients protect and defend their most important assets and brands. He represents clients in trademark, copyright, unfair competition, and franchise litigation, including proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and in licensing and trademark clearance and prosecution matters.

Mr. Bussert was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America^® for Franchise Law and Intellectual Property Law for 2012 and the five years immediately preceding. He was listed in “The Trademark Experts’ Experts” by World Trademark Review, and was selected in World Trademark Review's inaugural guide to the top 1,000 trademark practitioners in the world. Mr. Bussert is also listed in the "International Who’s Who of Trademark Lawyers" and the "International Who’s Who of Franchise Lawyers" by Law

Business Research Ltd. He was named a 2008 Georgia "Super Lawyer" in the areas of Intellectual Property, Intellectual Property Litigation and Franchise/Dealership law by SuperLawyers magazine. In 2010, Mr. Bussert was named a "Legal Eagle" by Franchise Times and was named by Legal Media to its 2010 Guide to the World's Leading Trademark Lawyers. He received the 2010 University of Toledo College of Law Distinguished Alumnus Award. 

For more information about Mr. Bussert, please visit: http://www.kilpatricktownsend.com/en/Who_We_Are/Professionals/B/BussertChristopherP60.aspx

About Who’s Who Legal

Since 1996 Who's Who Legal has identified the foremost legal practitioners in 32 areas of business law. Published by Law Business Research, the book contains Who’s Who Legal’s current assessment of exactly who are the very best legal practitioners. The publication is designed primarily as a reference source for purchasers of legal services seeking to corroborate the reputations of expert lawyers recommended to them by another party.  For more information about Who’s Who Legal, please visit www.whoswholegal.com.

About Kilpatrick Townsend

Kilpatrick Townsend has 18 offices extending into the four corners of the continental United States; Asia; and Europe, including: Atlanta, GA; Augusta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Denver, CO; Menlo Park, CA; New York, NY; Oakland, CA; Raleigh, NC; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Walnut Creek, CA; Washington, DC; Winston-Salem, NC; Dubai; Stockholm; Taipei, and Tokyo. For more information, please visit: www.kilpatricktownsend.com.

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