Rupert Barkoff Remembered as 'True Pioneer' in Franchise Law

Rupert Barkoff, chairman of the franchise team at Atlanta-based law firm Kilpatrick Townsend, died June 5 at age 71. Barkoff joined what was then Kilpatrick & Cody in 1973 and spent his entire career with the firm, establishing its franchise practice and later working to co-found the American Bar Association’s Forum on Franchising.

“Rupert was a true pioneer in the franchise legal community,” said Marc Lieberstein, a partner at Kilpatrick Townsend, as he pointed to Barkoff’s co-authoring of the book “Fundamentals of Franchising” for the ABA as “perhaps Rupert’s most significant contribution to franchising.”