Max Warren
Max Warren is Counsel at Wilkinson Stekloff. His litigation practice focuses on antitrust matters, products liability, civil fraud claims, and internal investigations. He has represented an array of clients, including Pfizer, Bayer, Facebook, and FedEx. He has also done extensive work on behalf of sports leagues including Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and twice taking cases to trial on behalf of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He has been a member of numerous other trial teams that have tried cases to verdict in state and federal courts. His experience touches all aspects of trial strategy and preparation, and he approaches cases with an eye toward telling a compelling story at trial.
He has also worked on multiple significant internal investigations, including conducting numerous witness interviews, managing document collection and review, and forensic analysis.
Max also maintains an active and diverse pro bono practice. He successfully represented an individual seeking asylum from Central America and continued to represent him as he progressed through the immigration system. He also twice argued in the District Court of Maryland in habeas matters. Recently, he helped draft an amicus brief filed in the Supreme Court. He has been recognized repeatedly for his pro bono service on the D.C. Court of Appeals’ Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll.
Before joining the firm, Max practiced at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in Washington, DC. He also interned with Judge James Boasberg of United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Education
- Undergraduate: Harvard University, B.A. cum laude (2008)
- Law: Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. cum laude (2014); Senior Editor, Georgetown Journal of International Law; President, Georgetown Entertainment and Media Alliance; Member, Criminal Justice Clinic
Notable Matters
- Senior member of the trial team for Monsanto in Frank v. Monsanto, the first hybrid trial involving claims that exposure to PCBs and Roundup-branded products, both manufactured by Monsanto, caused the plaintiff’s Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Facilitated overall case strategy, managed the team supporting lead trial counsel, assisted with voir dire, and developed witness examinations.
- Co-lead trial counsel for a major medical device manufacturer in a product liability matter pending in California state court. Max first-chaired numerous depositions of expert witnesses.
- Managing legal team representing NFL and its 32 member clubs in an ongoing national antitrust MDL lawsuit in the Central District of California brought by putative class members challenging the League’s broadcast arrangements for its Sunday Ticket Package.
- Member of the legal team representing the NCAA in a putative class action lawsuit against the NCAA and its member Conference challenging the NCAA’s rules regarding student-athletes’ use of their names, images, and likenesses (“NIL”).
- Member of trial team for the NCAA in lawsuits brought by current and former student- athletes challenging, under the Sherman Act, NCAA rules limiting the level of athletics-based financial aid and benefits that student-athletes may receive. The Court’s opinion reaffirmed the procompetitive value of the NCAA’s rules limiting pay for student-athletes while enjoining certain limitations on benefits that student-athletes may receive.
- Member of trial team in Todd McNair v. NCAA. Team obtained a defense jury verdict in state court in Los Angeles. McNair, a former USC assistant football coach, was implicated by the NCAA in the Reggie Bush benefits scandal. He sued the NCAA for defamation. Wilkinson Stekloff took over the representation after the NCAA had lost three pretrial appeals, including on the issue of McNair’s ability to show falsity and malice. At trial, the team persuaded the jury to reject McNair’s claims and find that none of the NCAA’s statements was false. After further proceedings, the matter resolved successfully.
- Member of the trial team for Monsanto in Hardeman v. Monsanto, the first federal-court trial over allegations that Roundup causes Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff.
- Member of trial team representing Facebook, Oculus VR, and individual defendants in Zenimax Media et al v. Oculus VR et al., a matter filed in the Northern District of Texas that went to trial. Plaintiffs sought $6 billion in damages based on allegations that the defendants improperly used their trade secrets and other intellectual property in designing the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. The team obtained a defense verdict for Facebook and partial defense verdicts for the remaining defendants, including the jury’s rejection of plaintiffs’ lead claim of trade secret misappropriation.
- Helped lead multiple internal investigations assessing conditions in different industries. In this work, Max has managed document collection, forensic analysis, and has conducted numerous witness interviews.
- An attorney at Wilkinson Stekloff since its inception, Max has also been a member of teams that have represented a wide range of additional clients in antitrust matters, products liability claims, and other legal challenges.