What You See Isn’t What You Get: How The Colgate Doctrine May Apply To The Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litigation, 24 Competition: J. Anti. & Unfair Comp. L. Sec. St. B. Cal. 60
Leegin, Ten Years Later: Did Vertical Agreements Remain Unalwful Per Se Where Adopted to Facilitate a Price-Fixing Horizontal Scheme, 38 Franchise L.J. 119
Exclusive Remedy Provisions in Franchise Statutes: An Unsettled History of Interpretation, The Franchise Lawyer Vol. 24, No. 2
Claiming Rescission: The Battle for Equity, 42 Franchise L.J. 47
State Bar of California
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
Director, ABA Forum on Franchising, Litigation and Dispute Resolution subcommittee (2023-Present)
Member, ABA Forum on Franchising, Litigation and Dispute Resolution subcommittee (2021-2023)
Topic & Article Editor, ABA Franchise Law Journal (2023)
Chair, California Franchise Law Committee (2022-Present)
Publications Vice Chair, California Franchise Law Committee (2020-2022)
Case Reporter, California Franchise Law Committee (2018-2019)
Southern California Super Lawyers “Rising Star,” Franchise & Dealership, Antitrust Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution (2019-2023)
Franchise Times “Legal Eagle,” (2022-2024)
Editor-in-Chief, The Federal Circuit Bar Journal, Volume 25
Student Attorney, Public Justice Advocacy Clinic (The George Washington University Law School)
Dean’s Fellow (The George Washington University Law School)
Member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Board (The George Washington University Law School)
Research Assistant to Global Competition Professor of Law and Policy, William E. Kovacic (The George Washington University Law School)
President, Pre-law chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International (University of California, Riverside)
The George Washington University Law School, J.D., 2016
University of California, Riverside, B.A. Philosophy, 2013
Franchise & Distribution
Trademark
Trade Secrets
Business Litigation
Employment Litigation
Trials
Appeals
Regulatory Actions
Filemon “Phil” Carrillo is a nationally recognized franchise and distribution litigator and trial lawyer and is the Co-Chair of the Mortenson Taggart Adams LLP Franchise and Distribution practice group. In representing his clients, Phil serves as more than their litigator; he serves as outside general counsel and assists his clients to navigate complex franchise and distribution regulations, creating strategies to manage franchise, distribution, trade secret and other intellectual property issues, and preparing for litigation by developing a record that protects his client’s interests. He believes that the best litigation strategies are a result of sound business judgment, with the client’s business goals as the primary focus.
Phil has a unique approach to litigation, centered on creativity. He has handled matters from pre-dispute, through litigation, trial, and appeal. His experience spans from filing strategic lawsuits, seeking preliminary injunctive relief to bring important issues to a court’s attention, managing discovery to narrow issues for trial, and prosecuting dispositive motions to obtain early resolution of matters. Phil’s strategy is to focus on the issues that matter to the client, court, and jury.
As a complex commercial litigator, Phil has handled a wide array of business disputes in state, federal, administrative, and arbitration forums across the country. He has litigated cases involving fraud, trade secrets, statutory violations, trademark, competition, and contract disputes in various industries, including fitness, quick service restaurants (QSR), real estate, construction, manufacturing equipment, to name a few. Phil also represents manufacturers, franchisors, licensors, and distributors in government investigations and administrative proceedings.
In addition to representing clients, Phil holds national and California leadership roles. He currently serves as the Director of the ABA Forum on Franchising’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution subcommittee. He is also the Chair of the California Lawyers Association’s Franchise Law Committee. Additionally, he served as an editor for the Franchise Law Journal. In 2021, Phil presented on antitrust and franchise issues at the annual meeting of the Forum on Franchising. In 2022, he presented on the changes to automotive distribution promulgated by new electric vehicle manufacturers for the ABA.
Academic writing is one of Phil’s passions. He is a widely published writer and earned the coveted Edward Wood (Jack) Dunham Rising Scholar Award from the American Bar Association’s Forum on Franchising in 2022 for his article Claiming Rescission: A Battle for Equity, published in the ABA’s Franchise Law Journal. In addition to publishing in the FLJ, he has been published by The Franchise Lawyer, the Daily Journal, and the California Bar Association’s Competition journal. Phil is also frequently quoted by legal articles regarding franchise and antitrust issues.
As a result of his work, Phil has been recognized as a Super Lawyer Rising Star for franchise/distribution and antitrust and a Franchise Times “Legal Eagle.” Before joining Mortenson Taggart Adams LLP, Phil was a named partner at a California boutique firm that focused its practice on franchise and distribution issues.