Professional Education
Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, J.D.. (1983). Graduated in the top 10% of his law school class; and (during law school) argued a prisoners’ rights case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Corgain v. Miller, 708 F.2d 1241 (7th Cir. 1982); externed at the United States Attorneys Office in Chicago, and taught Street Law at a Chicago public high school.
Marquette University (Milwaukee Wisconsin) B.A. cum laude (1980). Inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu, the national Jesuit Honor Society.
Background & Affiliations
Carmen is a partner in Stahl Cowen, a full service business law firm in downtown Chicago.
From 1985 to 1997, Carmen was affiliated (first as an associate, and later as a partner) with Foran, Wiss & Schultz (later Foran & Schultz), a premier Chicago litigation firm led by two former federal prosecutors (who had prosecuted the Chicago Seven Conspiracy Trial during their federal service). Here, Carmen gained substantial trial experience in a wide variety of sharply contested cases in which clients were seeking a caliber of counsel consistent with the reputations of the extraordinary federal prosecutors who founded the firm.
From 1997 to 2001, Carmen practiced law as Carmen D. Caruso, P.C., and established his reputation following his federal appellate victories in Interim Health Care of Northern Illinois v. Interim Health Care, Inc.. 225 F.3d 876 (7th Cir. 2000); and Bellaver v. Quanex Corporation, 200 F.3d 485 (7th Cir. 2000). In these years, Carmen began to represent franchisees and dealers from all over the country, very quickly being recognized as a Legal Eagle by Franchise Times, and was soon invited to speak on franchise law and trial practice subjects by the American Bar Association (Forum on Franchising), the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA, now known as the American Association for Justice), the International Franchise Association, and organizations that were dedicated to protecting franchisee rights such as the American Franchisee Association and the American Association of Franchisees & Dealers (where Carmen later served on the Board of Directors).
By 2001, Carmen found that his cases were too large for a solo practice, and he joined a mid-sized Chicago law firm (Schwartz Cooper Chartered) where he established the firm's franchiue practice group and served as the group's Chair for seven years until the majoirty of his partners elected in 2008 to become part of the Chicago office of a larger law firm based in Michigan. When that deal was announced, Carmen elected to buck the trend toward ever larger law firms and joined Stahl Cowen as a partner.
