Trent Johnson has concentrated on product distribution law since the beginning of his career at Foley and now devotes the vast majority of his practice to counseling manufacturers on many of the key facets of their resale relationships. Trent routinely advises his clients — from Fortune 100 companies to smaller private organizations — on issues involving channel structure (including multi-channel networks), drafting key contractual provisions, state and federal antitrust law compliance, contract administration and enforcement, e-commerce issues, distributor and dealer performance, negotiating relationship modifications (both individual and system-wide), transfers of control, product or territory withdrawals, product pricing, discount and rebate programs, product repurchase disputes, and other issues.

To the extent clients need to disengage entirely from a distributor, Trent has substantial experience litigating and trying distributor terminations (including “bet-the-network” terminations) in state and federal court and in arbitration. He focuses primarily on distribution and franchise litigation and counseling, which includes counseling on related antitrust issues. Trent also has substantial experience in general commercial and complex litigation.

Key to Trent’s practice is staying ahead of statutory changes and their impact on manufacturers. Trent was the creator of the interactive version of Foley’s “Smiley Face Map,” a tool designed to assist in-house counsel in assessing their risk of liability under the panoply of state distributor and dealer protection statutes.

Trent is co-chair of the firm’s Distribution & Franchise Practice.