Julie Lusthaus is a business attorney whose practice focuses on franchise and general business matters. Julie represents a broad spectrum of franchised and independently owned businesses and their owners in all stages of growth. Julie’s clients operate businesses in various industries including restaurants (full-service, bakeries, cafés, delis, QSRs and juice bars), retail, hospitality, real estate, fitness, recreation and family entertainment, business services, household and home improvement services, health care, education, childcare, pet services, printing, used clothing, senior care, residential and commercial cleaning, staffing services and disaster restoration. Julie is also a skilled litigator with many years’ experience representing business clients in state and federal courts as well as in arbitration and mediation.
Affiliations
- Member, American Bar Association Forum on Franchising, 2002 – Present
- Program Co-Chair, ABA Forum on Franchising Annual Forum, Nashville, TN, October 2018
- Member, Governing Committee, 2016 – Present
- Director, Litigation and Dispute Resolution Division, 2013 – 2015
- Committee Member, Litigation and Dispute Resolution Division, 2009 – 2012
- Co-Chair, Women’s Caucus Breakfast, 2006
- Member, Westchester County Bar Association, 2015 – Present
- Member, Business & Commercial Law Committee
- Member, Hospitality Law Subcommittee
- Member, International Franchise Association
- Member, USA 500, 2016 – Present
Honors
Named, Legal Eagle – Franchise Times, 2014-2019
Speaking Engagements
October 2019, Buying and Selling a Franchised Business: Guiding a Franchisee through the Process, Forum on Franchising, American Bar Association, Denver, Colorado.
May 2019, Employee to Entrepreneur: Fear of Missing Out, Entrepreneurial Panel, FRANNET, Rye, NY.
June 2017, Franchise Law, Restaurant Law University, Westchester County Bar Association, White Plains, NY.
November 2016, Plowing New Ground – Litigating Selected Disclosure Issues Beyond Item 19, Forum on Franchising, American Bar Association, Miami, FL.
April 2016, Legal Considerations for New York Franchises, Westchester County Bar Association, Yonkers, NY.
October 2015, Rescission: The Annulment of a Franchise Marriage, Forum on Franchising, American Bar Association, New Orleans, LA.
April 2015, Clash of Counsel: Franchise Litigation and Dispute Resolution from the Perspective of Counsel for Franchisors and Franchisees, Moderator, Forum on Franchising, American Bar Association, Webinar.
October 2014, Views From the Bench, Moderator, Forum on Franchising, American Bar Association, Seattle, WA.
June 2014, Fundamentals of Franchising: Litigation and Franchise Relationship Laws, co-sponsored by the American Bar Association and New York Bar Association, New York, NY.
October 2013, Fundamentals 201: Strategic Discovery Issues In Franchise Litigation, Forum on Franchising, American Bar Association, Orlando, FL.
October 2011, The Franchisee Lawyer’s Checklist: What Every Franchisee Lawyer Should Know, Forum on Franchising, American Bar Association, Baltimore, MD.
June 2010, Fundamentals of Franchising: Representing the Franchisee, co-sponsored by the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising and New York State Bar Association, New York, NY.
October 2009, Is Franchising Abandoning Arbitration? Current Trends in Arbitrating Franchise Disputes, Forum on Franchising, American Bar Association, Toronto, Canada.
May 2009, Full Steam Ahead: Tips and Traps in Drafting and Enforcing Boilerplate, International Franchise Association Legal Symposium, Washington D.C.
Articles and Books
Franchising: What Every Restauranteur Needs to Know, Westchester County Bar Association, 2017
Fundamentals of Franchising, Chapter 8, Representing Franchisees, 4th ed., Forum on Franchising, American Bar Association, contributing author, 2015
Admissions
State of New York, 1996
U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1997
U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York, 1997
State of New Jersey, 1998
U.S. District Court District of New Jersey, 2006
State of New Hampshire, 1995
District Court District of New Hampshire, 1995
U.S. Supreme Court, 2000
Education
J.D., Brooklyn Law School, 1995
B.A., American University, 1989