Graham W. Meli
Education
- Cornell University, A.B. 2002, with distinction
- Harvard Law School, J.D. 2005, magna cum laude (Executive Editor, Harvard Law Review)
Graham W. Meli
Graham W. Meli is a Partner in Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz’s Litigation Department. His practice includes litigation relating to corporate transactions, shareholder derivative litigation and related investigations, securities litigation, and commercial litigation. Mr. Meli represents clients at both the trial and appellate levels, as well as in negotiation of complex settlements.
Mr. Meli’s recent matters include representation of RTX Corporation in obtaining dismissal of a securities class action, as well as in obtaining dismissal of a class action relating to employee-compensation awards and subsequent affirmance on appeal to the Second Circuit; representation of Dyal Capital Partners in defeating multi-front litigation challenging its SPAC merger with Owl Rock; representation of Cigna and its directors in obtaining dismissal of a shareholder derivative suit in the Delaware Court of Chancery; and serving as lead counsel to a retail client in a commercial arbitration. For over a decade, Mr. Meli has represented Bank of America in mortgage-related matters, including the Bank’s significant settlements with FHFA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, FGIC, and others.
Since joining Wachtell Lipton in 2005, Mr. Meli has worked on several of the firm’s other high-profile matters. He has represented JPMorgan in multi-billion-dollar litigation brought by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy estate, Silverstein Properties in an insurance appraisal proceeding relating to the destruction of the World Trade Center in the September 11 attacks, and a Swiss bank in several matters arising out of the Madoff fraud.
Mr. Meli was also a member of the pro bono team that successfully represented New York State’s Chief Judge and Unified Court System in a constitutional challenge to the State’s extended failure to adjust judicial salaries.
Mr. Meli received an A.B. with distinction in all subjects from Cornell University in 2002. He received a J.D. magna cum laude in 2005 from Harvard Law School, where he was an executive editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Select Publications
- The CARES Act: Litigation and Enforcement Lessons from the Financial Crisis,
in Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets, April 9, 2020.
- Second Circuit Rejects Credit Card Antitrust Litigation Settlement,
in Bank and Corporate Governance Law Reporter, Volume 57 Number 1, September 2016.
- New York's Highest Court Holds that Six-Year Statute of Limitations on RMBS Repurchase Claims Runs from Time of Securitization,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, June 15, 2015.
- New York Court of Appeals Highlights Limits on Extraterritorial Reach of State Law,
in The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, May 1, 2012.
- Recent Decisions Reaffirm That Merger Terminates Derivative Standing Under Delaware Law,
in Bank and Corporate Governance Law Reporter Volume 45 Number 1, September 2010.
- Line Extension,
in The Deal Pipeline, July 2, 2010.
- Federal District Court Dismisses Madoff-Related Class Action as Preempted by Federal and New York State Statutes,
in The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, March 24, 2010.
