Bio

Ric is a seasoned business and commercial litigator and trial lawyer. He represents clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country as well as in alternative dispute resolution forums such as arbitration and mediation. Ric has extensive experience in the areas of antitrust, intellectual property, valuation, technology and finance, among others. Ric spends most of his time keeping the world safe for franchising. For nearly thirty years Ric has represented many of the nation’s most prominent franchise, licensing and distribution companies in a wide variety of lawsuits from complex multi-forum class action litigation to standard enforcement actions and everything in between. Ric has helped franchisors develop programs to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights like trademarks and trade secrets, and he regularly defends franchisors against fraud, breach of contract, good faith and fair dealing, tortious interference, registration and disclosure violations and similar claims. Ric also works with franchisors to develop effective responses to state and federal regulatory inquiries and investigations, as well as strategies to defend state and federal enforcement actions. Chambers USA commented that Ric “is hailed by peers as an excellent litigation lawyer” and “one of the great litigation experts in [the franchising] field.” Before forming Cheng Cohen LLC, Ric was a partner with DLA Piper US LLP and its predecessor firms for nearly his entire career. He was a member of DLA Piper’s Litigation and Franchise & Distribution practice groups, co-chaired the firm’s Franchise Litigation practice group, and served as the firm’s hiring partner.