Elizabeth M. Casey

Trials & Appeals

Liz’s recent trial experience includes:

• Representing a client in a federal criminal prosecution involving charges of honest services wire fraud. The first five-week trial resulted in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a verdict. The government decided to retry the case, and after another five-week jury trial, the team secured a full acquittal for the client.
• Defending a financial institution accused of fraud and breaches of fiduciary duty. After a two-week bench trial in state court, the plaintiffs voluntarily withdrew their claims and the matter resolved in the client’s favor. 
• Representing a client in a months-long federal bench trial involving a complex commercial dispute involving alter ego and fiduciary duty allegations with more than $500 million at stake.
• Defending a pharmaceutical company in a consumer product case that resulted in a complete defense verdict after a five-week jury trial in state court.

Liz also has a significant appellate practice. She regularly works with teams on direct appeals and assists clients with amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the intermediate appellate courts. A former federal clerk for the Hon. Joel H. Slomsky of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Liz leverages her trial and appellate experience to counsel clients at all stages of a dispute on strategic issues and to serve as on-site appellate counsel during trials, both in state and federal court. In that role, she has negotiated jury instructions, advised trial teams regarding preservation issues, and drafted critical briefs at all stages of litigation — from successful motions in limine, to directed verdict motions and post-trial briefing, to appeals.

Class Actions & Commercial Litigation

Liz frequently represents clients in lawsuits stemming from: mergers, acquisitions and other corporation transactions; allegations of fraudulent inducement and misrepresentations under state and federal consumer protection laws; alter ego claims; and disputes alleging breaches of fiduciary duties. She has extensive experience with aggregate litigation, including both class actions and mass torts, and has had particular success advocating for clients’ interests through the strategic use of early dispositive motions. Some of her representative experience includes:

• Representing one of the largest home improvement retailers in the United States in a putative class action asserting deceptive-pricing claims. The team successfully removed to compel arbitration and then secured a significant affirmance from the Seventh Circuit.
• Defending an automobile manufacturer in a putative class action asserting claims for breach of contract, fraud, unjust enrichment and violations of state consumer protection laws. The team removed the case to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act, successfully moved to compel arbitration of the plaintiffs’ claims, and then obtained a favorable settlement for the client.
• Representing a financial institution in a case challenging breaches of commercial loan documents and fraudulent inducement. After briefing several successful motions that substantially narrowed the triable issues, the team secured a favorable nuisance value settlement after filing summary judgment.

Pro Bono & Community

Liz serves as the co-lead of Women Forward for the firm’s Philadelphia office and as the content editor of the ABA’s Consumer Litigation Committee.

She has been recognized by the firm for her robust pro bono practice, which focuses primarily on civil rights matters, criminal justice reform and issues relevant to indigent communities in Pennsylvania. Some of Liz’s pro bono representations include:

• Persuading the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review an intermediate appellate decision that had authorized the Pennsylvania State Police to refuse to disclose a full, unredacted copy of its policy governing the use of social media in criminal and employment background investigations. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ultimately ordered the State Police to provide the client with an unredacted copy of its full social media policy. See Pennsylvania State Police v. ACLU of Pennsylvania, 300 A.3d 386 (Pa. 2023).
• Partnering with a nonprofit and a team of Faegre Drinker lawyers to file a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Pennsylvania State Police, which resulted in the State Police’s agreement to revise policies that previously permitted unconstitutional enforcement of civil immigration law. See Marquez v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (2022).
• Drafting a series of amicus briefs in cases challenging the mandatory imposition of life-without-parole sentences for individuals convicted of felony murder in Pennsylvania. See Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Derek Lee (2023); Marie Scott et al. v. Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole (2021).

Personal Interests

Liz loves reading fiction, cultivating her new but growing vinyl collection, cheering for Philadelphia sports teams, traveling to national parks and spending time with her family in her hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania. She was also a member of Swarthmore’s women’s basketball team.