In what has become an annual event, MANA’s Attorney Forum met in Chicago last fall to tackle a full slate of legal issues that affect independent manufacturers’ representatives. Everything from collecting unpaid commissions, to dealing with international principals and the need for written contracts was discussed by the 19 attorneys in attendance. A major benefit of this event is that rep-savvy attorneys are able to exchange experiences and best practices that they’re able to share with their agent clients.

Standing, left to right: John Anderson, Thomas Kammerait, Douglas Andrews, Victoria Valentine, Jerry Leth (MANA’s VP and general manager), Ray Flores, Kim Sim, Matt Benson, Clarinda Comstock, Adam Glazer, Florentino Ramirez, Randy Gillary and Charles Cohon (MANA’s president and CEO).
Seated, left to right: Mark Schmidt, Barbara Kramer, Gerald Newman, Dan Beederman, Gene Hoff, John Rottaris, Steve Valentine and Leslie Marell.

MANA members can find a list of rep-savvy attorneys in the member area of the website, www.MANAonline.org.