Mr. Merenstein, chair of the Firm’s Appellate Practice Group, has a comprehensive litigation practice ranging from first and second-chairing jury trials to handling state and federal court appeals to serving as court-appointed special master in a number of complex federal cases. He has extensive experience mediating difficult disputes and has been responsible for dozens of appeals covering a wide variety of subject matters. Mr. Merenstein served as vice-chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department from 2013 to 2016 and chair of the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee from 2010 to 2015. He was an adjunct professor of appellate advocacy at Drexel University School of Law from 2007 through 2015. Before attending law school, Mr. Merenstein worked for almost a decade in labor relations. He also has completed two intensive, week-long mediation courses at Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation, including an advanced workshop on mediating complex disputes.
News & Publications
- Schnader Lawyers Named to PA Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
- Bruce Merenstein Selected as Fellow of American Academy of Appellate Lawyers
- Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Establishes New Requirement for Preservation of Certain Jury-Instruction Errors in Civil Cases
- Schnader Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America 2019
- Third Circuit and Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Issue Important Appellate Jurisdiction Decisions With Lessons for Trial and Appellate Lawyers
- Bruce Merenstein Quoted in “Quiet Time? Oral Arguments Disappear in Federal Appeals Courts” in National Law Journal
- Many Schnader Lawyers Named to PA Super Lawyers
- Supreme Court Holds That Consolidated Cases Retain Their Independence for Purposes of Appeal
- Bruce Merenstein’s Oral Argument Recapped in Law360
- Bruce Merenstein Offers Comments on PA Cases
- Schnader Attorneys Named to Super Lawyers 2017
- 40 Schnader Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America 2018
- A Motion by any Other Name…
- Bruce Merenstein Comments on Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rulings
- Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Holds That Failure to File Brief in Support of Properly Filed Post-Trial Motion Does Not Waive Issues on Appeal
- Third Circuit Appellate Practice Manual (Third Edition)
- “Pennsylvania’s Appellate Courts Strike Out on Their Own Collateral Order Path”
- Many Schnader Attorneys Named to Super Lawyers 2016
- The Road Not Taken Leads to Forfeiture of an Appeal
- Bruce Merenstein Selected as the Best Lawyers Appellate “Lawyer of the Year” in Philadelphia
- Thirty-Seven Schnader Attorneys Selected for The Best Lawyers in America 2017
- Third Circuit Affirms Dismissal Where Post-Trial Movant Refused to Recreate Missing Trial Record
- Cosby Attorneys Seek to Stop Preliminary Hearing
- Big-Name Criminal Defenses Offer Pressure and Reward for Schnader
- Recent Second Circuit Decision Teaches Trial Lawyers a Difficult Appellate Lesson: Following Trial Rules that Conflict with Rules of Appellate Procedure Can Cause Forfeiture of Appellate Rights
- “Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Third Circuit Explains How Courts Should Balance Clashing Stay Factors”
- Third Circuit Adopts “Constructive Knowledge” Standard for Post-Award Attempts to Disqualify Arbitrators
- “Saylor Offers a Lonely Voice in Death-Penalty Appeals”
- Merenstein quoted in “Courts Embracing Special Discovery Masters”
- Thirty-Three Schnader Attorneys Selected for The Best Lawyers in America 2016
- Super Lawyers Recognizes Many Schnader Attorneys in 2015
- Are Federal Appellate Courts Growing Impatient with Procedural Errors? — Risks for Clients and Their Counsel
- Supreme Court Reaffirms That an Appellee Who Does Not Seek To Enlarge Its Favorable Judgment Need Not File a Cross-Appeal To Attack a Lower Court Ruling
- Schnader Hosts the 2014 World City Bar Leaders Conference
- Supreme Court of PA Reaffirms the Broad Scope of the Commonwealth Court’s Declaratory Judgment Jurisdiction in Challenges to Agency Interpretations of Statutes
- Thirty-Two Schnader Attorneys Selected for The Best Lawyers in America 2015
- Super Lawyers Recognizes Many Schnader Attorneys in 2014
- Twelve Schnader Attorneys Honored as 2007 ‘Pennsylvania Rising Stars’
- Bruce Merenstein Appointed Vice Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Federal Courts Committee
- Supreme Court Confirms That Merits Decisions Are Final and Appealable Even When Contractual Fees Remain Unresolved
- “The Mediation Caucus: Where the Rubber Meets the Road”
- Schnader Defends Airline from Mistaken-Meal Suit
- “Appellate Lawyers Learn to Play Well with Others”
- Third Circuit Rejects New Jersey’s Effort to Sanction Sports Wagering
- Super Lawyers Recognizes Many Schnader Attorneys in 2013
- Texas Plaintiff Takes Another Swing at the “Baseball Rule”
- Thirty-One Schnader Attorneys Selected for The Best Lawyers in America 2014
- The “Effective Vindication” Doctrine is a Virtual Dead Letter After American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant
- Recent Pennsylvania Superior Court Decision Highlights Importance of Objections to Preserving Issues for Appellate Review
- Recent Supreme Court Decision Highlights Some Pitfalls of Federal Appellate Procedure
- Significant Pennsylvania Rules Change Requires Bigger Type and Much Shorter Briefs
- In the News: Bruce Merenstein’s Role as Special Master and Mediator in Avandia Fee Dispute
- Schnader Appellate Team Secures Precedential Decision for Delaware Inmate
- Super Lawyers Recognizes Many Schnader Attorneys in 2012
- Thirty-Three Schnader Attorneys Selected for The Best Lawyers in America 2013
- Pro Bono Newsletter Summer 2012
- Schnader Appellate Team Secures Dismissal of Misguided False Claims Lawsuit Against Covanta
- Schnader Achieves Appellate Victory
- The Legal Intelligencer Honors Schnader Team with “Unsung Hero” Pro Bono Award
- Schnader Attorneys Successful in Securing Parole for Pro Bono Client William J. Barnes
- “Do Jurors Pay Attention to What Lawyers Say?”
- U.S. Magistrate Judge Calls for Release of Firm Client William J. Barnes on His Request for Parole
- A Team of Schnader Attorneys Achieve Appellate Victory for Client in In re SK Foods
- “Pennsylvania Supreme Court Parts Ways With U.S. Supreme Court on Collateral Order Appeals”
- “Superior Court Adopts Broad Protections for Attorney-Expert Communications”
- Schnader Appellate Team Obtains Significant Victory in Trust Case for Wells Fargo
- Schnader Attorneys Achieve Victory for General Electric in Important Asbestos Appeal
- Pro Bono Newsletter Summer 2011
- Thirty Schnader Attorneys Recognized as “The Best Lawyers in America” for 2012
- Schnader Obtains a Dismissal in a Matter for Covanta Holding Corp.
- Florida Supreme Court Deepens Split of Authority on Meaning of Federal Limitation of Liability for Aircraft Owners and Lessors
- “Pulling the Curtain Back on Appellate Fact-Finding”
- Super Lawyers Recognizes Many Schnader Attorneys in 2011
- “Right Time, Wrong Place”
- “Secondary Authority Revisited”
- “Good Secondary Authority and Bad Secondary Authority”
- “The Hearsay Trojan Horse: Out-of-Court Statements Offered to Demonstrate a ‘Course Of Conduct'”
- Eleven from Schnader Are Members of The American Law Institute
- “In Search of Fairminded Jurists”
- “PA Supreme Court Requires Litigants to Raise Futile Arguments”
- The Schnader Team Representing William Barnes Featured in Several Articles Detailing His Request for Parole
- Thirty-Two Schnader Attorneys Recognized as “Best Lawyers in America” for 2011
- Pro Bono Newsletter Summer 2010
- Third Circuit Appellate Practice Manual (Second Edition)
- Schnader Lawyers Win Before the Third Circuit in Case Involving Judicial Pay Raises in Pennsylvania
- “Circuit Precedent? What Circuit Precedent?”
- “When Eight is Not Enough”
- H. Lee Schwartzberg to Co-Chair Schnader’s Business Services Department
- Schnader Successfully Obtains Complete Acquittal on Murder Charges Against William J. Barnes
- Schnader Delivers Significant Victory for the State Bar of California
- “A Brief Brouhaha”
- “A Holiday Gift for Appellate Procedure Wonks”
- Super Lawyers Recognizes Many Schnader Attorneys in 2010
- Pro Bono Newsletter Fall 2009
- “When 60 Percent Is Not a Majority”
- “Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy’s Death Penalty Dissents: The Importance of Statutory Authority and Procedural Protections”
- Schnader Achieves an Important Victory for a Firm Client in a Landmark Trusts & Estates Case
- Schnader Appellate Team Obtains a Groundbreaking Decision in Pennsylvania Trust Law
- “Ships Passing in the Night”
- “Superior Court Says It’s OK to Rely on Defective Online Dockets”
- “More Quibbling Over Precedent”
- “Prevailing Parties Do Not Have to Appeal After All”
- Many Schnader Attorneys Honored as 2009 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Schnader’s Merenstein to Receive a 2009 Burton Award
- “The Infallible Internet?”
- Merenstein Offers Insight on “Judicial Notice” and Information Found on the Internet
- “Is Appellate Jurisdiction Always Jurisdictional?”
- Schnader’s Merenstein Elected to the American Law Institute
- “Certificates of Merit: Where Good Intentions Can Be Excusable Neglect (Sometimes)”
- Twenty-Eight from Schnader in Best Lawyers in America 2009
- Recent Third Circuit Decision Contributes to Confusion Regarding Premature Notices of Appeal
- “Premature Notices of Appeal”
- “There’s Wrong and Then There’s Really, Really Wrong”
- Schnader Honors Bruce P. Merenstein and Judith F. Olson With Harrison Awards
- Perfected Security Interests vs. Writs of Garnishment
- “Charities and the Orphans’ Court”
- “Manufacturing Mootness”
- “Clarification Needed of Amendments to Rule 1925”
- “High Court Quibbles Over Definition of ‘Proceeds'”
- In Russia, Judge Lewis Speaks on U.S. Human Rights
- Schnader Well-Represented in Bar Association of the Third Federal Circuit
- Many Schnader Attorneys are 2007 Super Lawyers, 2008 Best Lawyers
- Twenty-Four from Schnader in Best Lawyers in America 2008
- Merenstein Appointed to Drexel Law Faculty
- Merenstein Honored with 2007 Burton Awards
- Schnader Attorneys Involved with New Third Circuit Appellate Practice Manual
- Persons Who May Take or Participate in an Appeal
- Schnader Appeals
- Twelve Schnader Attorneys Named Pennsylvania Rising Stars
- “Interim Issues Requiring Appellate Review—Pennsylvania’s Collateral Order Doctrine: Lessons From The Barnes Foundation Case And The 30 Years Of Jurisprudence Preceding It”
- Merenstein Review Lessons from Barnes Case
- Schnader Lawyers Fight Abuse of Legal Process
- Schnader Secures New Trial for Man on Death Row Almost 20 Years
- Merenstein Judges Legal Writing Competition
- Merenstein Appointed to Philadelphia Bar’s Investigative Division
- Merenstein Writes on Appellate Law
- Schnader Names Three New Partners
- Five Schnader Attorneys Honored as Pennsylvania Rising Stars
- Schnader Attorneys Honored for Outstanding Pro Bono Work
- Pro Bono Newsletter
- Issues and Trends in New Jersey Law
- Pro Bono Newsletter
- Bruce P. Merenstein Noted as Young Lawyer Who Played Key Role in Barnes Foundation Matter
- “More Proposals to Amend Rule 68: Time to Sink the Ship Once and for All”
- “Last Bastion of School Sponsored Prayer? Invocations at Public School Board Meetings”
Community & Pro Bono
- Or Hadash Reconstructionist Synagogue Board of Directors, 2002-2005; 2012-present
- Upper Dublin School District Budget and Finance Task Force, 2010-2011
- Upper Dublin School District Gifted Education Review Committee, 2007-2008
- Upper Dublin Township Historic Preservation Committee, 2002-2005
- Upper Dublin School District Educational Advisory Committee, 2000-2005
Education
- University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., summa cum laude, Order of the Coif, 1998
- University of Massachusetts, M.S., University Fellowship recipient, 1988
- Brandeis University, B.A., magna cum laude, 1985
- London School of Economics, Certificate in Sociology/Economics, 1984
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania, 1998
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Clerkships
- Edward R. Becker, Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1998-1999
Professional Affiliations
- American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Fellow
-
Lawyers Advisory Committee of the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit, member (appointed by Chief Judge, 2017-present)
- American Law Institute, member
- Philadelphia Bar Association; Appellate Courts Committee, co-chair (2016-2017); Federal Courts Committee, chair (2015), vice chair (2014); Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention, investigator (2006-present)
- Bar Association for the Third Federal Circuit, founding member
- American Bar Association, member
- Academy of Court-Appointed Masters, member
Other Distinctions
- Completed Advanced Mediation Workshop: Mediating Complex Disputes course at Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation, 2019
- Best Lawyers‘ 2017 Philadelphia Appellate Practice “Lawyer of the Year”
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Appellate Law, 2008-2019
- Rated AV® Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell®
- Recognized as a ‘Pennsylvania Super Lawyer’ in the area of Appellate Law, 2009-2019
- Completed Mediating Disputes course at Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation, 2014
- Two time recipient of the Burton Award for Legal Achievement, 2007 and 2009
- Recipient, Earl G. Harrison Pro Bono Award, 2008
- Honors from HIAS & Council, a public-interest immigration advocacy organization, in recognition of outstanding pro bono work on an asylum case, 2005
- Recognized among ‘Pennsylvania Rising Stars’ by Super Lawyers in the area of appellate law, 2005-2007
- Online columnist for appellate issues for The Legal Intelligencer Blog, 2008-2012
- Winner of the University of Pennsylvania Law School’s prestigious Keedy Cup moot court competition, 1998
- Graduation awards from the University of Pennsylvania Law School for best constitutional law paper, best civil procedure paper, and most significant contribution to the Law Review, 1998
- University of Pennsylvania Law Review Executive Editor, 1997-98; Associate Editor, 1996-97
Representative Matters
Representative Mediation Experience
Mr. Merenstein’s mediation and related matters include the following:
- Serving as court-appointed Special Master in numerous complex federal cases, including multidistrict litigation matters involving mass tort, false marketing, and anti-trust claims;
- Mediating and facilitating resolution of dozens of discovery disputes regarding attorney-client privilege, document production, electronically-stored information, fact and expert depositions, medical examinations, third-party discovery, and other contested issues;
- Successfully mediating nine separate objections to proposed distribution of $143 million common benefit fee among 17 law firms;
- Resolving disputes between seven state attorneys general and common benefit fee committee over states’ contributions to common benefit fund;
- Assisting in resolution of two large inventories of personal injury cases;
- Helping to craft voluntary lien resolution program adopted by approximately 45 health care plans, numerous plaintiffs, and defendant for handling third-party lien claims; and
- Serving as Judge Pro Tem in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, presiding over mandatory settlement conferences in major jury cases.
Representative Appellate Practice
- Mr. Merenstein’s appellate practice has included the preparation and editing of hundreds of briefs, supervision of other lawyers’ brief drafting, and presentation of dozens of oral arguments in a wide variety of appeals in federal and state court. His appellate representations have run the full gamut of civil and criminal matters, covering numerous constitutional, statutory, and common law subject matters, as well as regulatory, procedural, and jurisdictional issues. He has handled a number of high-profile criminal appeals involving complex legal issues. He also has joined trial teams as appellate counsel, handling all motion briefing and argument in the trial court, developing the legal arguments to complement the trial team’s presentation of the facts, and taking responsibility for such matters as issue preservation and proposed jury instructions.
Representative Trial Experience
- Mr. Merenstein’s trial practice has included roles as lead counsel and co-lead counsel in civil and criminal matters at both jury and bench trials; second-chair responsibility in many additional jury and bench trials; and briefing and arguing numerous pre-trial and post-trial dispositive motions.
Related Events
- Laurel Gift and Bruce Merenstein Spoke at PACDL Conference
- Schnader Attorneys Presented at 2015 Federal Bench-Bar Conference
- Bruce Merenstein Presents as part of Villanova Law School Appellate Practice Panel
- Bruce Merenstein Participates in Appellate Panel at Villanova Law School
- Bruce Merenstein Presented Developments in the Supreme Court’s 2013 Term
- Bruce Merenstein and Dennis Suplee Presented at the Philadelphia Bar Association Federal Bench Bar Conference 2014
- Bruce Merenstein Presented on “Local and Global Art Conflicts and the Law: From the Barnes Foundation and Beyond”
- Advanced Issues in Civil Practice and Procedure
- Developments in the Supreme Court’s 2012 Term
- Developments in the Supreme Court’s 2011 Term
- Schnader Attorneys Attend the American Law Institute 89th Annual Meeting
- Schnader Presented: Using Contemporary Trust Law to Ensure Antiquated Trust Restrictions Don’t Frustrate Trust Goals
- Appellate Litigation Practicum
- Schnader Attorneys Speak at The Second “Colonial Frontier” Legal Writing Conference
- CLE Session: Advanced Issues in Civil Practice – Judicial Review
