WASHINGTON, DC. (January 9, 2012) — The law firm of Gray Plant Mooty is pleased to announce that Peter J. Klarfeld, a franchise attorney with the firm’s Washington, DC, office, has been elected shareholder, effective January 1, 2012.

Klarfeld concentrates his practice on franchise litigation. He is one of the most experienced franchise trial and appellate lawyers in the country and has represented many of the largest franchisors in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Klarfeld is also a well-respected leader of the franchise bar, having served on the governing committee of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising from 2007 to 2010.

Prior to practicing franchise law, Klarfeld served in the U.S. Department of Justice as an attorney-advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel. He was also a trustee and chairman of the Dalkon Shield Other Claimants Trust. Additionally, Klarfeld served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert R. Merhige Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The recipient of numerous legal honors, Klarfeld has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America every year since 2006, The International Who’s Who of Franchise Lawyers since 2003, Chambers USA since 2007, and Franchise Times since 2004.

Klarfeld received his J.D., Order of the Coif, from the University of Virginia Law School. He lives in Falls Church, Virginia.