Ellen Meriwether

Ellen Meriwether has been a partner with the firm since its founding in 1992. She concentrates her practice in the area of antitrust litigation and has held leadership positions in a number of the firm’s important antitrust cases including: In re Cattle Antitrust Litig., (D. Minn.); In re Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litig., (D.N.J.); In Re Restasis (Cyclosporine Ophthalmic Emulsion) Antitrust Litig., (E.D.N.Y); Kamakahi v. American Society for Reproductive Medicine, (N.D. Cal.); In re Ductile Pipe Fittings Antitrust Litigation (D.N.J.); Nichols v. SmithKlineBeecham Corp. (E.D. Pa.); In re Relafen Antitrust Litigation (D. Mass.), and Todd. v. Exxon (2d Cir.).

Meriwether is a Director of the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) and is a 2021 inductee into the AAI Private Enforcement Hall of Fame. She has served on the Editorial Board of ANTITRUST, a magazine published by the Antitrust Law Section of American Bar Association for the past 11 years, including three years as Editorial Board co-chair. Ms. Meriwether has authored a number of amicus briefs submitted both in the United States Supreme Court and in various Circuit Courts of Appeals, including briefs before the Supreme Court in Tyson Foods Inc. v. Bouaphakeo and in American Express v. Italian Colors..

Education Profile

Ms. Meriwether received her law degree magna cum laude 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.

Involvement and Memberships

• American Antitrust Institute (AAI) – Director
• Board Chair, Public Interest Law Center, Philadelphia, Board Member since 2013
• American Bar Association 
  • Editorial Board 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. 
• 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: 
  • “Antitrust Class Certification: The Use of Statistical and Representative Evidence to Establish Predominance of Common Proof”, 93 Temple L. Rev. 553 (Spring 2021) (with Roberta Liebenberg);
  • “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. 
• 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” every year 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, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.