Publications

Experience with litigation resolves disputes; experience with disputes resolves litigation.

“A Revolution That Doesn’t Offend Anyone,” THE ABA GUIDELINES FOR THE APPOINTMENT AND USE OF SPECIAL MASTERS IN CIVIL LITIGATION, Judges Journal, v. 58, No. 4 at 30 (Fall 2019).

Read it here.

“Guidelines for the Appointment and Use of Special Masters in Federal and State Civil Litigation,” Drafted by the ABA Working Group on Special Masters, Merril Hirsh, convenor, adopted unanimously by the American Bar Association House of Delegates, January 28, 2019.

Read it here.

“Special Masters: A Consensus Proposal for a New Approach to Civil Litigation,” Alternatives (International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution) (December 2018) 169.

“Special Masters: Helping Judges’ Reach Exceed Their Grasp,” ALTERNATIVES (International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution) (June 2017).

Read it here.

“We’ve Just Made Peace, Let’s Address the Next War: Taking Some Care To Get Dispute Resolution that Works for You,” TROUTMAN SANDERS PRIVATE EQUITY QUARTERLY, Summer 2016, reprinted in LAW 360, September 1, 2016.

“Writing Arbitration Clauses to Get the Arbitration You Want,” Law 360 (August 9, 2016) (with Nicholas Schuchert).

Read it here.

“Special Masters: A Different Answer to a Perennial Problem,” ABA THE JUDGES JOURNAL (with James Rhodes and Karl Bayer), v. 55 No. 2 (Spring 2016) at 26.

Read it here.

“Overlitigation is Killing Us: How In-House Counsel Can Get the Service They Deserve,” CORPORATE COUNSEL (May 2016).

“Getting It Right: The Other Challenge for Arbitration,” D.C. BAR LITIGATION SECTION QUARTERLY UPDATE at 16 (Winter 2015/2016).

“Getting to Yes … or No: Dispute Resolution that Resolves Disputes,” ALTERNATIVES (International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution), v. 33 No. 7, at 1 (July/August 2015), reprinted in International Arbitration Journal (Oct. 2015).

Special Masters: How To Make the Best of Both Worlds (multi-part posting on Karl Bayer’s Disputing blog, beginning November 2014).

Read it here.

“How to Hold Down Costs of Adjudication: Even in the US,” TerraLex Connections (October 2014).

“Background of the Illinois Brick Decision,” Appendix, ABA Section of Antitrust Law’s Indirect Purchaser Litigation Handbook (August 8, 2007).

Reverse Payment Settlements, ANTITRUST (Summer 2007).

“I Didn’t Say Orphan Often: The Benefits of a Bright-Line Rule Banning Brand to Generic Payments in Hatch-Waxman Patent Settlements,” ABA Antitrust Health Care Chronicle, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Summer 2005).

“Are False Positives Really So Negative? A Response to Kevin McDonald,” ANTITRUST, Vol. 17 No. 3, at 83 (Summer 2003).

“The Essential Facilities Doctrine: Keeping the Word ‘Epithet’ from Becoming One” (March 21, 2003).

Read it here.

“In Re High Fructose Corn Syrup: A New Form of Chicago School Education,” Findlaw.com (November 1, 2002).

“Can An Insurer and An Insured Settle an Insurance Policy?,” 11 Mealey’s Litig. Rep. at 15.

ABA’s Antitrust and Telecommunications Practice Guide, Sherman Act Section 2 Chapter, Co-Author.

I will manage your dispute fairly and efficiently.

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What People Say About Merril

  • I’ve worked with Merril for more than 20 years. He brings a unique and valued perspective to dispute resolution. His wealth of complex litigation experience, detailed knowledge of the insurance industry, and longstanding relationships with plaintiffs’ counsel, defense counsel and insurance executives will greatly facilitate the resolution complex disputes in a fair and reasonable manner. You can be confident that your position will be evaluated carefully, thoroughly and with integrity, and if there is a way to settle on good terms, Merril will almost certainly find it.

    Wallace A. Christensen, Managing Director, Chesterbrook Woods, LLC, Member American College of Trial Lawyers

  • Merril Hirsh worked with DC Appleseed pro bono on a project designed to make DC’s Attorney General more accountable to the public and make it an elected office. The project required careful analysis of a number of competing claims as well as the bringing together of a number of conflicting viewpoints. Merril was superb at both those undertakings and helped lead us to a really good outcome for the residents of DC.

    Walter Smith, Executive Director DC Appleseed

  • I practiced law with Merril for more than 20 years. Among other things, he taught me how to take my very first deposition as a newly-minted attorney, and we worked together on complex litigation matters, from insurance coverage to patent and trademark disputes. Merril is one of the smartest people I know. He has an uncanny ability to identify all the nuances and angles of even the most complex matters, analyze them thoroughly, and explain them persuasively. Merril is someone who could pick up pretty much any case in any subject matter and figure it out very quickly.

    Jennifer Mathis, Partner, Troutman Sanders LLP

  • Merril Hirsh is an organized and experienced litigator who gets things done! He has been chairing a special ABA Committee relating to Special Master appointments. I have worked with him on this project for the past 18 months. He is efficient and effective. He encourages others to work with him and with each other. These traits would make him an outstanding mediator, arbitrator or special master.

    Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (ret.)

  • Merril Hirsh is the complete package. His deep and broad experience as a counselor and litigator, in advocating on behalf of clients and understanding their interests, complements his innate talent as an effective neutral. Add to all of that a superlative work ethic, creativity, and a passion for “getting to ‘yes.’” A lawyer and her or his client will be in excellent hands with Merril as the neutral.

    William D. Johnston, Partner at Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP in Wilmington, Delaware and Immediate Past Chair of the ABA Business Law Section

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