Nickolas I. Merrill

Commercial Disputes

Nick counsels clients in a variety of class action matters, with a focus on defending civil RICO and state consumer fraud lawsuits. He is experienced with multiple aspects of civil litigation, in particular with dispositive motion practice.

For real estate clients, Nick has drafted dispositive motions and managed court-ordered consent agreement work, class action discovery and the class action settlement process.

For nonprofit clients, his primary focus has been defending a charitable co-pay assistance foundation in a series of complex civil RICO class action suits. This work has largely focused on motion-to-dismiss briefings and discovery.

For financial institution clients, Nick has taken the lead in resolving arbitration disputes brought by consumers under consumer fraud laws.

Representative Experience

• Won summary judgment for a U.S. Navy veteran in an Administrative Procedures Act case for judicial review of a decision by the Board for Corrections of Naval Records that denied medical disability retirement for combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Won dismissal of several suits brought by consumers against a large financial institution for claims sounding in consumer fraud.
• Won dismissal of complex civil RICO claims for a charitable co-pay assistance foundation that allegedly received improper donations from pharmaceutical companies.

Prior Experience

Before joining the firm, Nick served a clerkship with Judge Stephen J. Murphy III at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. During that time, he drafted orders and bench memoranda for motions in civil and criminal cases, drafted opinions for appeals on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, worked on bench and jury trials for criminal cases, and managed a civil docket of more than 50 cases.

During law school, Nick held an internship at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Western Division. Nick also served as the managing editor for the Uniform Commercial Code Reporter-Digest and was on his law school’s national moot court team.

Nick served as a summer associate with the firm in 2019.

Personal Interests

When not in the office, you can find Nick on the pickleball court, watching professional and college football, or attempting his latest sous vide recipe in the kitchen.