I would like to recommend Mario Herman for his exceptional negotiating skills, and warm heart.
Beginning 2020 I had severe heart problems, a pacemaker installed, was forbidden to work and recommended to avoid stress. I had to close my small franchise. By contrast, the penalty for closure was $83,600 and my franchisor had a reputation for not being lenient in face of proven severe health problems. Everybody told me that my contract was clear-cut and binding. Then I contacted Mario, he asked about my personal situation and I explained to him that I was 73 years old, had no income after the franchise’s closure, or pension, and was living on my savings. He started a long negotiation and obtained my release from the contract. I did not pay a penny! It was a wonderful show of skills.
I found Mario not only a highly skilled professional but also a wonderful human being, helping me in many ways:
· During the negotiation he e-mailed and phoned me continuously to help me keep my stress at the minimum possible
· He told me at the start not to worry about his fee, he was charging me only an extremely low starting fee and nothing more
· He advised me in the problems I was facing outside the franchise issue, like for example with my landlord.
Daniela
I highly recommend attorney Mario Herman. Mario responds in a very timely matter and is very straight forward with his answers; he doesn’t sugar coat anything! Mario is very knowledgeable about franchise law and is very in tune with franchisee rights. Mario is not afraid to stand up and fight for you and is committed to getting the best outcome he can. I found him to be a very skilled negotiator. Mario worked very collaboratively with us and told us what to expect each step of the way. We were able to have a very successful outcome and we owe that to Mario’s dedication and skills. If you are looking to for an experienced franchise attorney, look no further than Mario Herman!
Tim
Mario Herman is one of the finest franchise lawyers in the United States. I have had the professional privilege of contesting numerous matters with him, and his performance has been impeccable. He is highly talented in advocating his clients’ positions and always prepared. At the same time, he is a creative problem solver, always gracious, who possesses the gift of being able to harmonize the views of the parties into a constructive solution. He is the complete package in a lawyer, in other words—wise counselor, zealous advocate, and a courteous professional. I would recommend anyone seeking a franchisee lawyer to consult with Mario Herman.
Allan
In legal matters there are two critical areas that ultimately decide most disputes – the knowledge of the legal ramifications and the preparedness of the attorney for your particular case. Mario Herman, in his over 30 years of experience, excels at both. The man is a walking resource for domestic and international franchise law with countless articles and professional acknowledgements to his credit. It’s not unusual for attorneys who represent adverse parties to remark about how thoroughly Mario prepped for a dispute and the lengths he went to gather pertinent information to assist his client’s case. He has literally traveled across oceans in pursuit of useful information for his task at hand.
More than just being a world class attorney, I’ve had the privilege to know Mario on a personal level and can attest to his sincere caring nature. A man who is consistently asking “how can I help?” and routinely demonstrates his devotion to family. As a fellow attorney and gatherer of knowledge, I regularly seek out Mario’s professional and personal views. He is exceptionally well-read and approaches debates with a level head and steady hand. It is without any hesitation that I would recommend Mario’s services to anyone in the franchise arena. If you’re lucky- you’ll get to one day call him a friend.
Brian
I’ve known Mario Herman for almost 30 years. We first met as adversaries in a hotly contested franchise arbitration in which I represented a franchisor and Mario represented a franchisee. We fought hammer and tong, as only young lawyers can do, for about 4 or 5 days of hearings in what had been a seemingly intractable dispute. I remember two things about Mario of 30 years ago — he was unfailingly gracious, and extraordinarily well-prepared; in fact, better prepared than I was. And he had gone the extra mile. In his arsenal he had a secret weapon – an affidavit from a official at the Federal Trade Commission who spoke directly to, and criticized, the misconduct that Mario had accused my client of engaging in that, he argued, lead to his client’s business failure. With that affidavit, the case soon after settled. From that moment, I recognized Mario as a zealous and creative advocate whose skill and knowledge I should never fail to appreciate.
Fast forward 30 years. I’ve had the privilege and absolute pleasure as serving as a mediator in a series of franchise disputes against a single franchisor in which Mario represented multiple franchisees. The nature of mediation sometimes is that the mediator and counsel and his client get to spend a lot of time together during the negotiation process, and that is what happened for hours during each mediation with me, Mario and each of his clients. It was in those sessions that I saw the full measure of Mario. He respected and listened to his clients in a way that let me know how earnestly he took his obligations to them, and how much he considered each of their individual circumstances that would impact settlement of their claims. He was fully committed to each of them. They for their part listened to him, as well, and were sincerely appreciative of his help and dedication to their cases. He was as much their friend as their skilled franchise lawyer. Again, of course, he was extremely prepared and knew the law and facts inside-out. What I appreciated from my chair, however, was how practical Mario was in his efforts at problem solving. In a steady and resourceful manner he kept the pressure on during the negotiations, and was able to serve his clients by his resolve, coolness under fire and his absolute commitment to their cause. He did a wonderful job and his clients were fortunate to have him in their corner. And I was fortunate to have him in the mediations – without his involvement, resolution could have been harder, if not impossible, to reach. He did a real service to all.
Arthur
I was faced with a protracted predicament with an unscrupulous Franchisor who after selling me a franchise on false pretenses, routinely reneged on critical support services, then misled on supposed efforts for helping me to resell my unviable franchise, and continued prolonging the ordeal with every available ruse, delay, and deception. I, unfortunately, I was out of statutory protection under Maryland franchise law which was part of the Franchisor’s delay tactics and contacted several lawyers to attempt to attain some form of restitution from my losses. It was only Mario who was willing to take the matter on a fee accessible basis and he offered just the right legal prowess, guidance, and pursuit where with perseverance and follow-through, we were able to prevail with a successful settlement. Mario is in a class of his own, a true Champion of the Franchisee, offering the rare combination of legal expertise in his specialty with real compassion that enabled me to finally get some justice from an unscrupulous Franchisor’s exploitative practices. It would have been hard to simply walk away from a 5-year protracted ordeal with considerable losses, but by virtue of Mario’s command of the law, the perfect application of legal principles, with balance, perseverance, and ethicality, I was able to finally prevail. I will always be grateful for Mario’s service, and our success in this terribly difficult situation is a testament to Mario’s legal prowess, dedication to his profession and his rare compassion.
Howard
