Max Dilendorf Esq.

Max Dilendorf, Esq.
FOUNDER, Dilendorf Law Firm, PLLC

Max Dilendorf is a New York attorney representing high-net-worth families, founders, and family-office principals in the matters that decide if wealth survives.

He is counsel of record in more than 130 cybercrime arbitration matters before AAA, JAMS, and NAM. Proceedings against Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and other major institutions.

Max was one of the first U.S. attorneys to dedicate his practice to digital asset law, beginning in 2017.

He founded Dilendorf Law Firm to build a focused boutique around the work — HNW cybercrime defense, arbitration, and asset protection. Senior-counsel supervision on every matter.

Cybercrime Defense & Recovery

Max represents victims of SIM-swap attacks, account takeovers, exchange theft, wire fraud, business email compromise, ransomware, network intrusions, and domain hijacking.

He also represents celebrities, public figures, and creative professionals in matters involving IP theft, image misappropriation, and the unauthorized use of their likeness across digital platforms.

The work spans crypto theft against Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, and other major exchanges. It also covers traditional financial-institution attacks — Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, and major banks.

Post-incident response integrates dark-web investigations, blockchain forensics, and coordination with a national team of former federal professionals. Retired FBI cyber-enforcement agents. Former DOJ cyber officials. Licensed computer scientists. Former federal and state regulators.

The firm maintains standby first-response capability for ransomware matters. The team also handles cyber insurance coverage disputes — from breach-coach coordination through final claim resolution.

HNW Arbitration

Public courts are closing for HNW wealth disputes. Mandatory arbitration clauses now appear in nearly every consumer financial agreement. Max’s practice was built for what replaces them.

He files at AAA, JAMS, NAM, and FINRA. Disputes against crypto exchanges, mobile carriers, banks, brokerage firms, and software and AI counterparties.

Over seven years and 130+ matters, he has taken cases through full evidentiary hearings. He has secured awards and settlements for HNW clients across the seven-figure range.

His arbitration practice is built around the operational disciplines that decide cases — arbitrator selection, broad discovery scope, expert-witness depth, and procedural defense against early dispositive motions.

Asset Protection & Cross-Border Structuring

Max designs onshore and offshore structures intended to withstand actual litigation. Not brochure protection.

Every structure is stress-tested against the threats that bring these matters down in practice — brute-force cyber attacks, creditor pursuit, fraudulent-transfer claims, IRS challenges, and contempt orders.

His work uses Cook Islands trusts, Wyoming entities, domestic self-settled trusts, and FLP/LLC integrations. The firm’s senior team supports cross-border tax and estate planning.

When structures face IRS scrutiny, the firm coordinates with former IRS Civil enforcement and Criminal Investigation Division officials.

Architecture extends to where client data lives — Swiss data vaults, European GDPR-protected hosting, and air-gapped local storage for the most sensitive material.

Family Office Advisory

Max serves as cyber, arbitration, and asset-protection counsel for family-office principals. The existing tax and trust attorneys handle other matters. Max handles the matters they were not built for.

The work covers counterparty risk assessment, network intrusions, breach response, and integrated structural planning.

It also includes the operational legal infrastructure family offices increasingly require as cybercrime and regulatory exposure scale alongside wealth.

Digital Asset Leadership

Since 2017, Max has counseled clients on crypto transactions, blockchain-based structures, custody planning, crypto estate strategies, and the integration of digital assets into broader investment and asset-protection plans.

He advises founders, investors, and private clients on the legal and regulatory complexities of digital assets.

His regulatory work for FinTech, crypto platforms, and payment processors covers Money Services Business (MSB) registration with FinCEN.

He also handles state money transmitter licensing across key jurisdictions. The team designs compliant operational frameworks addressing AML/KYC obligations across DeFi platforms, exchanges, wallets, and cross-border payment systems.
Recognition

Max’s work has been featured in Fortune, Forbes, Bloomberg Law, Reuters, the Financial Times, the New York Law Journal, Wired, NBC News, Politico, , Cointelegraph, TechCrunch, and more than thirty other publications.

He also speaks regularly to family-office, private-wealth, and cross-border tax audiences.