About Harris J.
Harris J. Chernow completed both his undergraduate and legal education at Temple University, earning a B.B.A. in 1985 and a J.D. in 1988. He arrived in Philadelphia with formal training in business and the law at a time when franchise law and commercial litigation were evolving areas of practice. The Temple connection shaped both his analytical approach and his interest in the intersection of corporate structures and dispute resolution.
He is a partner at Reger Rizzo & Darnall LLP. Over the years he has built a practice that touches federal and state courts. He is admitted to the bars of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He is also admitted to the U.S. District Courts for the District of New Jersey and the District of Pennsylvania.
Chernow’s work centers on franchise and business matters. He appears in litigation and in nonlitigation settings. He serves as a neutral on panels and participates in mediation programs that specialize in franchise disputes, reflecting an interest in alternative dispute resolution as well as courtroom work.
Professional service has been a steady element of his career. He serves on the Steering Committee of the National Franchise Mediation Program and is listed as a Distinguished Franchise Panel Neutral at the Center for Public Resources Institute for Dispute Resolution. He has taken leadership roles in bar associations, including a vice chair position on the Montgomery County Bar Association’s Franchise Law Committee. He has also chaired education efforts, having been past chair of the Legal Education Subcommittee of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers.
He is an active participant in both local and national forums. He holds memberships in the Pennsylvania State Bar, the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Franchise and Business Sections, and the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Franchise Law Committee. He has served as a speaker for the International Franchise Association’s Legal Symposium and acted as Program Chair for the American Bar Association’s Forum on Franchising at its 30th annual meeting.
Colleagues and audiences see him frequently engaged in program planning, dispute resolution panels, and continuing legal education events. That mix of practice, panel work, and program leadership has kept him visible in franchise and business law circles. He maintains his office at Reger Rizzo & Darnall LLP and continues to handle franchise and business disputes as well as mediation and arbitration matters in both state and federal venues.
He currently focuses his practice on franchise and commercial litigation and on serving as a neutral in franchise dispute resolution.
