The Philip Zeidman Franchising Internship Program

The Philip Zeidman Franchising Internship Program

Please Apply Online Here
The International Franchise Association (IFA) Foundation is seeking qualified applicants for the 2024 Philip Zeidman Franchising Internship Program to work in the IFA’s Washington, DC office throughout the summer of 2024.

The Zeidman Internship Program is an annual summer intern program funded by DLA Piper LLP (US) to support IFA’s mission to protect, enhance, and promote franchising. The program was established to continue renowned franchise attorney Philip Zeidman’s legacy of service and support of the franchising community. Philip Zeidman is a retired partner at DLA Piper. The internship program is designed to educate an annual cohort of young professionals about franchising and will prepare them for a future career related to franchising, entrepreneurship, communications, and/or law.

The program is available to two students per summer, and participating interns will have the opportunity to:

• Engage in at least one educational session hosted by DLA Piper
• Conduct a research project focused on international franchise law under the direction of IFA and DLA Piper
• Participate in additional enrichment and educational opportunities, trainings, and workshops conducted by the IFA and, if appropriate, DLA Piper as part of its summer associate program.
• Gain hands-on professional experience in the franchise industry, seeing the intersection of law, government relations, communications, member engagement, and programming in support of franchising.
• Participate in major IFA events, including the annual Legal Symposium (May 5-7, 2024) and the IFA Annual Convention (February 17-20, 2024). While not required, students will receive a travel stipend if they choose to attend and will have the opportunity to meet IFA members and help staff portions of each major IFA event.
• Network with established franchise professionals to explore career paths in franchising
• Be featured in IFA’s marketing and recognized for their interest in pursuing a career in franchising

Applicants should be rising juniors or seniors at an accredited college or university or enrolled at an accredited law school. Candidates with a major or primary focus in franchising, business, finance, marketing, or law will be prioritized.

Preferred skills:

• Strong interpersonal skills, writing skills and the ability to work effectively with a team.
• Demonstrated understanding of and interest in franchising as well as advocacy and public policy.
• A strong desire to learn and a passion for producing high-quality work products.
• Self-motivated and independent – ability to take an assignment and work independently to complete it on a deadline and with a high degree of accuracy.

Apply HERE

About the IFA
Celebrating over 60 years of excellence, education, and advocacy, IFA is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations, and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the approximately 800,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 8.4 million direct jobs, $825.4 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy, and almost 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees, and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology, and business development.

About DLA Piper
DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs around the world. With a portfolio of services to match every stage of the business lifecycle, DLA Piper combines practice area knowledge with modern industry insights and an expansive geographic footprint in a way that no other firm can.

About Philip Zeidman
Throughout his career, Philip Zeidman’s principal interest has been in franchising. He had first encountered franchising when it was a little more than an idea, when taking business courses at Harvard. His work in government impressed him with its potential to provide independent businesspeople with the capacity to develop and manage their own enterprises. He has written several books on it and spoken on it all over the world. He has led most of the professional organizations formed to address the evolving issues of franchising and distribution.

From the inception of his practice, he focused most intensely on what did not seem to be a promising career move: international, or cross-border, franchising. Zeidman believed that would change massively, and it has. He chaired the then embryonic International Franchise Committee of the International Bar Association, which would later recognize his pioneering role by naming him an Honorary Life Member of the Association. He wrote the international column for Franchise Times for decades. “With the Best of Intentions,” his study of franchise regulations all over the world, presented and published in the Stanford Journal of Law, Business and Finance, received the Burton Award for Excellence in Legal Writing, presented at the Library of Congress.

Philip Zeidman’s first client was the then small International Franchise Association, and his practice grew along with it. The Association has recognized him with the William Rosenberg Award; the Dennis Wieczoreck Award; and now, the Chairman’s Award for Distinguished Service.