Caiola & Rose

Max is a seasoned commercial litigator with experience in a wide variety of business disputes. He represents clients in federal and state courts across the country and in arbitrations. Max advises clients through all stages of dispute resolution, including pre-litigation strategies through appeal.

Max began his career clerking for federal district court judges in Illinois and Vermont and working in private practice litigating matters related to healthcare law, product liability, commercial contracts, and state superfund laws. Prior to joining Caiola & Rose, he spent six years at a national franchisor-focused law firm, assisting clients with handling a wide range of franchise disputes, including those relating to franchise disclosure and relationship laws, breach of contract, unfair and deceptive trade practices, Section 1981 claims, and intellectual property, as well as disputes with third parties. Max has also represented clients in other complex litigation disputes, including post-M&A litigation, shareholder appraisals, and defending against consumer class actions. Max is at home in arbitration, state or federal court, and on appeal, and has deep experience compelling arbitration in complex procedural postures.

In addition to litigation, Max regularly works with clients to avoid dispute escalation, and has experience counseling clients in regulatory matters, including FTC and state investigation matters.

At home, Max is a father to two girls who are serious about ice skating and two golden retrievers who are serious about nothing.

Representative Experience:

• Lead counsel for the franchisor of a global system of quick service restaurants in an international arbitration against a former franchisee in South America, successfully securing a final award awarding damages and attorneys’ fees to the franchisor.

• Trial counsel in Texas federal court for the franchisor of a national system of restoration companies in a three-day bench trial involving the termination of a former franchisee, securing preliminary injunctive relief and a final post-trial judgment denying franchisee’s seven-figure wrongful termination claims and awarding liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees to the franchisor.

• Trial counsel for the franchisor of a national system of home care businesses in an arbitration against its former franchisee who had started a competitive business, successfully securing a final award that included damages and a permanent injunction. 

• Represented purchaser of a franchise system in eight figure post-M&A dispute in Delaware state court.

• Represented business owner in the Georgia Court of Appeals relating to a post-M&A shareholder appraisal action in Georgia state court, successfully securing a reversal of a trial court order that had been adverse to client, and securing a favorable ruling and final judgment on remand.

Education:

• The University of Illinois College of Law, Juris Doctor (2012, summa cum laude)

• Articles Editor for The University of Illinois Law Review

• Clinic Member of the Illinois Innocence Project, 2011 – 2012

• Worked for U.S. Attorney’s Office in Champaign, Urbana and DOJ Antitrust Division in Chicago, Illinois

• The University of Vermont, Bachelor of Arts (2009, cum laude)

• Major: Philosophy; Minor: Economics and English

• John Dewey Award for Philosophy

• Thesis on metaethics as Member of the Honors College

 Admissions:

• States: Illinois, Massachusetts, California

• Federal Districts: Northern District of Illinois; District of Massachusetts; Central District of California

• Federal Courts of Appeal: Seventh Circuit

 Recognition and Memberships:

• Task Force Member for the IFA Annual Legal Symposium (2024 – 2026)

• Franchise Times “Legal Eagle” (2025)

 Speaking Engagements and Publications:

• Speaker / Co-Author: Stealing the System: Trade Secret Battles After Franchise Termination (IFA Legal Symposium, May 2026)

• Speaker / Co-Author: Franchise Litigation: Basics Track (IFA Legal Symposium, May 2024)

• Co-Author: Systemwide Diversity and Inclusion: Surveying the Current Landscape and Considering How to Move Forward (May 2021)

• Co-Author: International Legal Developments - Year in Review 2020: International Contracts, 55 ABA/ILS YIR (2021)