Ellison Ward Merkel is a partner in Quinn Emanuel’s New York office. She joined the firm in 2011. Her practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, arbitration, and bankruptcy adversary proceedings. She has extensive experience representing clients in high-stakes, high-dollar disputes involving complex financial instruments, including numerous cases relating to application of standard-form documentation published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). She has also maintained an active pro bono practice, including successfully briefing and arguing an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit of an important issue of law under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA).
Before joining the firm, Nelly clerked for Judge Francis in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Prior to that, she was the Sinsheimer Fellow at the Partnership for Children’s Rights, where she assisted special education students and their families in identifying and obtaining needed educational services through administrative actions and litigation under the IDEA.
- Alvarez & Marsal
- American International Group
- House of Europe Funding I Ltd.
- Express Scripts
- Official Creditors Committee of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc.
- MF Global Holdings
- National Australia Bank
- Pershing Square Capital Management
- Solus Alternative Asset Management
- Two Sigma
- Obtained a very favorable settlement for the Lehman Brothers Estate in a derivatives dispute with Citibank that required Citi to return $1.74 billion of the $2 billion in collateral that Citi held at the time of Lehman’s default. The settlement was reached after a 6 month trial in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
- Representing three “Zohar” CLO funds and current manager, Alvarez & Marsal Zohar Management, in multiple litigations against the funds’ creators and prior managers, Patriarch Partners and Lynn Tilton. Succeeded in obtaining trial judgment finding Patriarch in breach of obligations to turn over books and records. Separately filed suit seeking $1 billion in damages against Patriarch and Tilton for breach of contractual and fiduciary duties and RICO violations.
- Representing pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts in a $15 billion contract dispute with its largest client, Anthem, as well as a related ERISA class action brought by members of Anthem health plans.
- Representing the Lehman Brothers Estate in a multi-billion derivatives dispute against Credit Suisse concerning the close-out of foreign exchange, interest rate and credit default swaps following the Lehman bankruptcy.
- Obtained a $100 million award for National Australia Bank in a FINRA arbitration against Goldman Sachs arising out of fraudulent misrepresentations made by Goldman in connection with the sale of $80 million in CDO securities.
- Obtained a $650 million settlement for American International Group in a long-running fraud action against Bank of America and Countrywide arising out of misrepresentations made in conjunction with the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.
- Negotiated a successful settlement for American International Group in $1.5 billion dispute with Canadian property consortium Brookfield Asset Management relating to the interpretation and application of an ISDA Master Agreement governing a long-dated interest rate swap.
- New York University School of Law
(J.D., cum laude, 2009)- New York University Law Review:
- Managing Editor
- Managing Editor
- New York University Law Review:
- Princeton University
(A.B., Religion, 2004)
- The State Bar of New York
- United States District Court:
- Southern District of New York
- United States Court of Appeals:
- Second Circuit
- Law Clerk to the Hon. James C. Francis IV
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, 2010-2011
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, 2010-2011
- Partnership for Children’s Rights:
- Sinsheimer Children’s Rights Fellow, 2009-2010
- Firm Memorandum: Litigation Risk in the SPAC World (September 2020)
- Toward Constitutional Minority Recruitment and Retention Programs: A Narrowly Tailored Approach, 84 NYU L. Rev. 609 (2009).
- Founding Board Member, Creo College Prep
- Education Leadership Council, College Summit