Marcel S. Pratt

Partner He / Him / His
Philadelphia

Marcel S. Pratt is the Managing Partner of the firm’s Philadelphia office. His practice focuses on commercial litigation, antitrust and competition law, product liability, class actions, investigations, and government relations. He also leads the firm's Crisis Management Team.

Marcel previously served as the City Solicitor of Philadelphia, the City’s highest-ranking lawyer and leader of its 330-member Law Department, which represented the City in all litigation, transactional, regulatory, and legislative matters. In that role, Marcel personally represented the City in highly publicized appellate and trial court matters and acted as general counsel to the Mayor, City Council, and all City departments, boards, and commissions.

Marcel is a litigator who represents clients in high-stakes matters and investigations. He has successfully represented clients in matters involving multibillion-dollar antitrust claims and has counseled clients on antitrust compliance and the implications of mergers and acquisitions. He has also represented clients in a range of breach-of-contract, product liability, and class action litigation. He has advised clients responding to criminal and regulatory investigations by federal and state authorities and has conducted highly sensitive internal investigations for private and governmental entities. He regularly advises clients on government relations, public policy strategies, and crisis management.

Experience 

Representative Matters

  • Defending an engineering company in a putative class action alleging that it entered into a no-poach agreement with its competitors to refrain from hiring each other’s employees
  • Representing a lender in a nationwide class-action regarding the funding of PPP loans
  • Leading an investigation on behalf of a school district into its charter-authorizing practices
  • Led an investigation for a university regarding its role in handling human remains from the 1985 MOVE bombing in Philadelphia

Professional Highlights

Board Memberships & Community Service

The William Penn Foundation

United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey

Project HOME

The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia

Professional Activities

Philadelphia Bar Association: Past Chair, Business Law Section; Past Co-Chair Business Litigation Committee; Past member, Large Firm Management Committee

National Bar Association, Deputy Regional Director for Region III (PA, NJ, DE) (past)

Barristers Association of Philadelphia, Executive Board (past)

Recognition & Accomplishments

Featured on City & State Pennsylvania's Law Power 100 List (2022, 2023), Black Trailblazers List (2024)

Leaders and Legends, Black History Month Exhibit, Smith Memorial Playground (2022)

The Best Lawyers in America, Government Relations Practice (Philadelphia), 2024

Attorney of the Year Finalist, The Legal Intelligencer Professional Excellence Award (2021)

Barristers Association of Philadelphia, William F. Hall Award (2021)

Speaking Engagements

Recent Issues in Antitrust, Elevating Black Excellence Regional Summit, Black In-House Counsel Network, October 21, 2021

“Building on a Legacy of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A View from the General Counsel’s Office,” Phila. Bar Association Summer Quarterly, July 28, 2021

"The Future of Antitrust Law: The Latest Proposed Legislation Designed to Amend Standards and Stimulate Enforcement," Ballard Spahr LLP, Mar. 2, 2021.

Reimagining the Future of the Work Environment, Univ. of Penn Law School, Feb. 10, 2021

Credentials 

Education

Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, (J.D. 2009)
Member, Temple Law Review

University of Pennsylvania (B.A. Economics, 2006)
Member, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

Admissions

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania