Ellen Meriwether

Ellen Meriwether has been a partner with the firm since its founding in 1992 and is resident in its Pennsylvania Office. She concentrates her practice in the area of Antitrust Litigation and has had an active role in many of the firm’s most successful actions including: In re Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litig. (D.N.J.) (cumulative settlements in an amount in excess of $270 million); Nichols v. SmithKlineBeecham Corp. (E.D. Pa.) (consumer and third party payor settlement of $65 million); In re Relafen Antitrust Litigation (D. Mass.) (consumer and third party settlement of $75 million).

Ms. Meriwether is a Director of the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) and is co-chair of the Editorial Board of ANTITRUST, a publication by the Antitrust Law Section of American Bar Association. Ms. Meriwether is a frequent presenter and lecturer on topics relating to complex, class action and antitrust litigation, including as a lecturer at the George Mason Institute of Law and Economics for Judges, and has published a number of articles on those subjects.

Education Profile

Ms. Meriwether received her law degree magna cum laude in 1985 from George Washington University, where she was a member of the George Washington Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Her undergraduate degree was conferred with highest honors by LaSalle University in 1981.

Involvement and Memberships

• American Antitrust Institute (AAI) – Director
• American Bar Association 
  • Editorial Board co-chair of the Antitrust Law Section’s magazine, ANTITRUST
• Philadelphia Bar Association
  •  2012 Chair of the Federal Courts Committee and has chaired several of its subcommittees. 
• Five years of service as an Adjunct Professor in the honors program of LaSalle University.
• Frequent presenter and lecturer on topics relating to complex, class action and antitrust litigation, including as a lecturer at the George Mason Institute of Law and Economics for Judges.  
• Ms. Meriwether has published a number of articles on those subjects relating to complex, class action and antitrust litigation, including: 
  • “Circuit Court Split Affecting Standing: Real or Not Real?,” Antitrust, Vol. 34, No. 1, Fall 2019;
  • “The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Rule 23 Amendments:  Are Class actions on the Precipice?,” Antitrust, Vol. 30, No. 2, Spring 2016;
  • “Motorola Mobility and the FTAIA:  If Not Here, Then Where?,” Antitrust, Vol. 29, No. 2, Spring 2015;
  • “Comcast Corp. v. Behrend: Game Changing or Business as Usual?,” Antitrust, Vol. 27, No. 3, Summer 2013;
  • “Class Action Waiver And the Effective Vindication Doctrine At the Antitrust/Arbitration Crossroads,” Antitrust, Vol. 3, Summer 2012;
  • “The Hazards of Dukes: Antitrust Plaintiffs Need Not Fear the Supreme Court’s Decision,” Antitrust, Vol. 26, No. 1, Fall 2011;
  • “Economic Experts: The Challenges of Gatekeepers and Complexity,” Antitrust, Vol. 25, No. 3 Summer 2011;
  • “Putting the “Squeeze” On Refusal to Deal Cases: Lessons from Trinko and linkLine,” Antitrust, Vol. 24, No. 2, Spring 2010; and 
  • “Rigorous Analysis in Certification of Antitrust Class Actions: A Plaintiffs’ Perspective,” Antitrust, Vol. 21, No. 3, Summer 2007. 
• Ms. Meriwether has also authored several amicus briefs submitted in Courts of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court, including  briefs in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of amicus the American Antitrust Institute in American Express v. Italian Colors, and on behalf of amici Economists and Other Social Scientists in Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo.
• Active in the Philadelphia legal community most notably as Vice Chair of the Board of the Public Interest Law Center. 
• Since 2010, Ms. Meriwether has been included in the US News and World Report Publication of “Best Lawyers in America” in the field of Antitrust Law, and she has been named a “Pennsylvania Super Lawyer” since 2005. Ms. Meriwether has attained the highest rating, “AV”, from Martindale-Hubbell.

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice

Ms. Meriwether is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the United States Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Seventh and Tenth Circuits and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.