Christopher Meade is a partner in the firm's Securities and Litigation/Controversy Departments, and a member of the Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation, Government and Regulatory Litigation, and Securities Litigation and Enforcement Practice Groups. He is also a member of the Business Trial Group. Mr. Meade has argued before the US Supreme Court four times over the past three Terms, including two arguments this Term. He joined the firm in 2001.

Practice

Mr. Meade's practice consists of representing major financial institutions in complex commercial litigation in federal and state court. He also has an active appellate practice, in which he represents clients in the US Supreme Court and other appellate courts. Mr. Meade has argued in the US Supreme Court and in the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Circuits, as well as before a 15-judge en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit. He has authored or co-authored over 50 appellate briefs, and has been counsel of record in the US Supreme Court on merits briefs, amicus briefs, petitions for certiorari, and briefs in opposition to certiorari. Mr. Meade's appellate experience extends over a broad range of areas, including constitutional law, administrative law, securities, intellectual property, bankruptcy, banking, employment, civil rights, veterans affairs and immigration.

Mr. Meade has argued before the US Supreme Court four times over the past three Terms, including two arguments this Term.

In particular, Mr. Meade argued before the Court on behalf of the City of New Haven in Ricci v. DeStefano, 07-1428 & 08-328, an important civil rights case that the Court decided this Term. The case has been covered by, among others, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, USAToday, National Public Radio and CNN.

On June 16, 2008, Mr. Meade secured a 5-to-4 Supreme Court victory in Dada v. Mukasey, 06-1181 (counsel of record), a statutory interpretation case he argued before the Court in January 2008.

Among his other significant appellate victories are the following: Mr. Meade represented Mr. St. Cyr in INS v. St. Cyr, 533 U.S. 289 (2001) (co-counsel with the ACLU), in which the Supreme Court issued an important ruling on federal court jurisdiction and also held that Congress had not applied a detrimental change in law retroactively to Mr. St. Cyr. Then, in Ponnapula v. Ashcroft, 373 F.3d 480 (3d Cir. 2004), Mr. Meade successfully argued that the holding of St. Cyr should be extended to another class of immigrants. He was also part of the WilmerHale team in In re Integrated Telecom Express, Inc., 384 F.3d 108 (3d Cir. 2004) (with Seth Waxman and Craig Goldblatt), in which the Third Circuit held that the Chapter 11 petition at issue was not a "good faith" bankruptcy filing. Mr. Meade also reached a settlement with the government in a Second Circuit immigration appeal in which the government agreed to permit his client, who had already been deported, to return to the United States.

Recent Highlights

Mr. Meade's other recent experience includes:  

• Invited by the Ninth Circuit, sua sponte, to present oral argument before the en banc court in U.S. v. Vidal (en banc) (15 judge court); the court ruled in Vidal's favor
• Filing an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court in Stoneridge Investment Partners v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. (with Seth Waxman, Bob McCaw, Lou Cohen, and Stuart Delery); the Court ruled, consistent with the amicus brief that 10b-5 liability should not be expanded
• Providing analysis and advice on US Supreme Court procedure and practice, as well as advice pertaining to pending cases. For example: Advised a hedge fund client on the likelihood of the US Supreme Court granting certiorari in a case involving a massive damages award, and advised a client on the implications of the grant of certiorari in a dormant Commerce Clause case
• Defending a major financial institution in a 10b-5 action involving research analyst reports
• Successfully petitioning the Second Circuit to grant interlocutory review, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(f), to review a class certification order in a securities case; after full briefing, the Second Circuit vacated the class certification order
• Represented major financial institution in investigations conducted by the SEC, New York Attorney General and other national and state regulators
• Filing a brief in the Federal Circuit, which resulted in a victory, in a patent case seeking affirmance of the district court's claim construction and judgment of noninfringement
• Filing briefs in the Federal Circuit, arguing, inter alia, that the jury's award in a patent case was grossly excessive (case settled after argument) 
• Filing a brief in the US Supreme Court Lopez v. Gonzalez, 05-547, and Toledo-Flores v. United States, 05-7664 (counsel of record) on behalf of leading immigration advocacy organizations; the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the immigrant, and held that the crime at issue was not an "aggravated felony" under the immigration laws
• Secured a Second Circuit victory on the post-Lopez case on behalf of an immigrant client; the Second Circuit held that a second simple drug possession offense under state law does not constitute a "drug trafficking crime," and thus an "aggravated felony," under the immigration laws
• Supervising briefs filed in the Second Circuit involving a prisoner's right to DNA evidence to establish innocence; the Second Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal and remanded for further proceedings, including for consideration of whether there is a constitutional right to DNA evidence, McKitthen v. Brown; the firm successfully opposed the government’s petition for certiorari
• Regular participant in moot courts for US Supreme Court and court of appeals arguments

Professional Activities

Mr. Meade is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

Honors and Awards

Mr. Meade has received numerous awards and designations including:

• Selected for LawDragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America (2008) (see www.lawdragon.com for criteria)
• Included in Super Lawyers (appellate) (New York Metro edition, 2007, 2008 and 2009) (see www.superlawyers.com for criteria)
• Empire State Counsel, New York State Bar Association (2007)
• Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Award for Outstanding Service (2005)
• President's Pro Bono Service Award, New York State Bar Association (2003)
• John H. Pickering Pro Bono Award, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering LLP (2001)
• Pro Bono Society, Association of the Bar of the City of New York (2001 to 2004)
• Skadden Fellowship with the American Civil Liberties Union (1998 - 2000)

Speaking Engagements

In July 2009, Mr. Meade presented at a CLE entitled "The Supreme Court: A Year In Review" at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. In February 2009, he spoke at Harvard Law School, at a conference sponsored by the Journal on Legislation, about the Supreme Court and immigration law. In December 2008, Mr. Meade spoke at the Federal Circuit Bar Association about his Supreme Court argument in the veterans' rights case, Peake v. Sanders, and also gave a presentation on the current Supreme Court Term at a major investment bank. In June 2008, Mr. Meade spoke on Supreme Court litigation at the national conference of the American Immigration Lawyers Association in Vancouver, Canada. In May 2008, he spoke at NYU Law School about litigation in the Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals. Other speaking engagements have included: teaching a program on US Supreme Court certiorari practice at the Association of the Bar for the City of New York ("Persuading the US Supreme Court to Take (or not Take) a Case: Petitions for Certiorari and Briefs in Opposition"); and presenting at NYU Law School on the "Supreme Court at the Crossroads," focusing on separation of powers and the war on terrorism. 

Community Involvement

Mr. Meade serves on the board of directors of the Urban Justice Center, as well as the board of directors of Partnership for Children's Rights (formerly Legal Services for Children). He was also a member of the Dean's Strategic Council at NYU School of Law.