J. Max Rosen is a litigation associate in the San Francisco office of Munger, Tolles & Olson.
Mr. Rosen’s practice focuses on appeals, general commercial litigation, insurance litigation, and strategic advising.
In March 2024, Mr. Rosen was named one of the “Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40” by the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. The award recognizes legal professionals under the age of 40 who have distinguished themselves in their field and have demonstrated a profound commitment to LGBTQ+ equality. He was also recently honored as a 2024 Pro Bono Awardee and recognized with the Keta Taylor Colby Award for his work drafting and arguing an appeal that secured a historic victory successfully ending warrantless parking ticket tows in San Francisco and across California.
Mr. Rosen has extensive litigation experience at the trial and appellate level. At the appellate level, he has drafted merits briefs in high-stakes appeals in the United States Supreme Court, the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 9th Circuit Courts of Appeal, the California Supreme Court, the California Courts of Appeal, and the Missouri Supreme Court. He has argued appeals in both the state and federal appellate courts. Recently, Mr. Rosen’s argued two appeals in the California Courts of Appeal that led to published decisions in favor of his clients.
At the trial level, Mr. Rosen has drafted and argued successful summary judgment motions and motions to dismiss in state and federal courts across the country. Mr. Rosen’s general commercial litigation practice includes breach of contract, copyright, trade secret case, and constitutional law cases for diverse clients. He also has a growing insurance practice focused on high-stakes bad faith litigation across the United States in state and federal court.
Outside the courtroom, Mr. Rosen has taken on the numerous complicated legal questions for government, tech, insurance, and entertainment clients, providing answers to difficult problems that never reach the courtroom.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Rosen clerked for Judge Debra Ann Livingston of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Alison J. Nathan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Judge Nathan would later be appointed to the Second Circuit).
Mr. Rosen graduated first in his class and summa cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he served as developments chair of the Harvard Law Review. He received his B.A. in English and music, magna cum laude, from Amherst College.
Mr. Rosen is a co-founder of the Yleana Leadership Academy, a program that prepares low-income high school students for the SAT, teaches them entrepreneurship skills, and helps connect them to compassionate peers and mentors. He also sung as a baritone in the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus since 2017.
Experience
Appellate
Notable appellate representations:
- Netflix in successfully dismissing a suit alleging a television show caused harm to a plaintiff, and then achieving affirmance of that dismissal in the Ninth Circuit.
- The Coalition on Homelessness in the California Court of Appeal challenging the common municipal practice of towing vehicles without a warrant on the basis of unpaid tickets. Mr. Rosen briefed and argued the appeal. The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court and held, in a published opinion, that such tows violate the federal and California constitutions.
- A landlord in Napa in successfully winning its unlawful detainer eviction action against a corporate tenant on summary judgment and thereafter receiving an award over $2 million in attorneys’ fees. Mr. Rosen briefed and argued the appeal in the California Court of Appeal, resulting in an affirmance by published opinion.
- The petitioner in In re Grand Jury, a case in the United States Supreme Court addressing the standard for applying the attorney-client privilege to dual-purpose communications.
- Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.), before the California Supreme Court, the California Court of Appeal, and California state court—ultimately resulting in the dismissal of White v. Block, an important lawsuit for numerous internet services companies facing claims of discrimination regarding their terms of service.
- A copyright plaintiff in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in challenging Texas’s assertion of sovereign immunity as a defense against copyright infringement.
- The Copyright Alliance and Recording Industry Association of America, in filing amicus briefs on intellectual property issues before the United States Supreme Court.
General Commercial Litigation
Notable trial representations:
- The Walt Disney Company in a copyright infringement suit relating to the song “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
- Quotient, Inc., in successfully opposing a TRO filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
- Checkr, Inc., in successfully settling allegations of trade secrets theft, unfair competition, and breach of contract brought by Safety Holdings, Inc. over Checkr’s alleged development of a competing platform for pulling motor vehicle records. After discovering that the only trade secret identified in the complaint was publicly available online, we brought the case to a confidential settlement.
- TIBCO Software in a successful suit against vendor Apttus and former employees for theft of trade secrets.
- Former officers of a bankrupt entity in successfully achieving dismissal on the pleadings of breach of fiduciary duty claims brought by the company’s Trustee on statute of limitations grounds.
- Representing GEICO in numerous cases across the country as national coordinating counsel, including:
- A lawsuit pending in Nevada federal court stemming from a $65 million arbitration award issued against GEICO’s insured.
- An ongoing case where a woman says she contracted a sexually transmitted disease in an insured man’s car. An arbitrator awarded the woman $5.2 million against the GEICO policyholder. GEICO filed a declaratory coverage action for a declaration of no coverage for the arbitration award.
- Appeals across the country, including in state appellate and Supreme courts.
Publications
Co-author, “Attorney-Client Privilege Lessons from In re Grand Jury,” ACC Docket, December 7, 2023
Speaking Engagements
- Speaker, 16th Annual Entertainment & Media Law Conference, National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, Jan. 17, 2020 (addressing the Supreme Court’s decision in Allen v. Cooper and sovereign immunity for states defending against copyright infringement claims)
Education
-
Harvard Law School (J.D., summa cum laude, 2015), developments chair, Harvard Law Review, Fay Diploma (for graduating student with highest GPA), Sears Prize (for top two students in the second year)
-
Amherst College (B.A., magna cum laude, 2007) Phi Beta Kappa
Clerkships
- Judge Alison J. Nathan, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 2016-2017
- Judge Debra Ann Livingston, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 2015-2016
Bar Admissions
- California
Experience
Appellate
Notable appellate representations:
- Netflix in successfully dismissing a suit alleging a television show caused harm to a plaintiff, and then achieving affirmance of that dismissal in the Ninth Circuit.
- The Coalition on Homelessness in the California Court of Appeal challenging the common municipal practice of towing vehicles without a warrant on the basis of unpaid tickets. Mr. Rosen briefed and argued the appeal. The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court and held, in a published opinion, that such tows violate the federal and California constitutions.
- A landlord in Napa in successfully winning its unlawful detainer eviction action against a corporate tenant on summary judgment and thereafter receiving an award over $2 million in attorneys’ fees. Mr. Rosen briefed and argued the appeal in the California Court of Appeal, resulting in an affirmance by published opinion.
- The petitioner in In re Grand Jury, a case in the United States Supreme Court addressing the standard for applying the attorney-client privilege to dual-purpose communications.
- Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.), before the California Supreme Court, the California Court of Appeal, and California state court—ultimately resulting in the dismissal of White v. Block, an important lawsuit for numerous internet services companies facing claims of discrimination regarding their terms of service.
- A copyright plaintiff in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in challenging Texas’s assertion of sovereign immunity as a defense against copyright infringement.
- The Copyright Alliance and Recording Industry Association of America, in filing amicus briefs on intellectual property issues before the United States Supreme Court.
General Commercial Litigation
Notable trial representations:
- The Walt Disney Company in a copyright infringement suit relating to the song “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
- Quotient, Inc., in successfully opposing a TRO filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
- Checkr, Inc., in successfully settling allegations of trade secrets theft, unfair competition, and breach of contract brought by Safety Holdings, Inc. over Checkr’s alleged development of a competing platform for pulling motor vehicle records. After discovering that the only trade secret identified in the complaint was publicly available online, we brought the case to a confidential settlement.
- TIBCO Software in a successful suit against vendor Apttus and former employees for theft of trade secrets.
- Former officers of a bankrupt entity in successfully achieving dismissal on the pleadings of breach of fiduciary duty claims brought by the company’s Trustee on statute of limitations grounds.
- Representing GEICO in numerous cases across the country as national coordinating counsel, including:
- A lawsuit pending in Nevada federal court stemming from a $65 million arbitration award issued against GEICO’s insured.
- An ongoing case where a woman says she contracted a sexually transmitted disease in an insured man’s car. An arbitrator awarded the woman $5.2 million against the GEICO policyholder. GEICO filed a declaratory coverage action for a declaration of no coverage for the arbitration award.
- Appeals across the country, including in state appellate and Supreme courts.
News
Publications
Co-author, “Attorney-Client Privilege Lessons from In re Grand Jury,” ACC Docket, December 7, 2023
Speaking Engagements
- Speaker, 16th Annual Entertainment & Media Law Conference, National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, Jan. 17, 2020 (addressing the Supreme Court’s decision in Allen v. Cooper and sovereign immunity for states defending against copyright infringement claims)
Practice Areas
Industries
Education
-
Harvard Law School (J.D., summa cum laude, 2015), developments chair, Harvard Law Review, Fay Diploma (for graduating student with highest GPA), Sears Prize (for top two students in the second year)
-
Amherst College (B.A., magna cum laude, 2007) Phi Beta Kappa
Clerkships
- Judge Alison J. Nathan, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 2016-2017
- Judge Debra Ann Livingston, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 2015-2016
Bar Admissions
- California