CAFFERTY CLOBES MERIWETHER & SPRENGEL - Key Persons
Alex Lee joined Cafferty Clobes Meriwether Sprengel's Chicago office as an associate attorney in 2023. Prior to joining Cafferty Clobes, Mr. Lee worked at several law firms in Chicago and Champaign and worked on cases in consumer law, employment law, civil rights, commercial litigation, and complex litigation.
Alex Sweatman is an associate in Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel's Chicago office.
Andrew Morris joined Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP in 2021. His experience includes a broad range of litigation matters.
Bryan Clobes has been with the firm since 1992 and has represented clients in all the firm's major industry areas, including pharmaceuticals, airlines, insurance and financial services, telecommunications, technology, retailing and manufacturing. His recent practice has emphasized antitrust and consumer fraud and protection. Mr. Clobes led the firm's high level efforts in many successful cases including: In re Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litigation (D.N.J. ) (in excess of $270 million in approved and distributed settlements); In re Visacheck and Mastermoney Antitrust Litigation (E.D.N.Y) ($3.2 billion settlement on behalf of national class of retailers and merchants) and Nichols v. SmithKlineBeecham Corp. (E. D. Pa.) (consumer and third party payor settlement of $65 million).
During and after graduating from law school, Mr. Clobes clerked for Judges Arlin M. Adams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Mitchell H. Cohen of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and Joseph Kaplan of the Maryland Circuit Court in Baltimore. Prior to joining the firm, from 1989-1992, Mr. Clobes then served as Trial Counsel to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission in Washington, D.C.
Christopher P. Dolotosky joined Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP as Of Counsel in 2024. He is a commercial litigation attorney with 20 years' experience in working on a variety of complex legal cases. He has participated in trials and conducted depositions in several cases. He is involved with the firm's antitrust practice. Prior to joining to our firm, he worked for several law firms and boutique firms in the Philadelphia area.
Daniel O. Herrera represents clients in federal and state cases nationwide, ranging from antitrust and commodity class actions, to shareholder derivative actions and product liability, privacy, and data breach suits. Mr. Herrera has played a key role in developing the Firm's successful consumer fraud practice.
Mr. Herrera has been actively involved in a number of the firm's successful actions, including Anderson v. Behr Process Corp., (N.D. Ill.) (uncapped consumer settlement relating to DeckOver product damage to class member decks); Traxler v. PPG Industries, Inc., (N.D. Ohio) (consumer action relating to defective deck resurfacing products with a settlement of $6.5 million); Ponzo v. Watts Regulator Company (D. Mass.) and Klug v. Watts Regulator Company (D. Neb.) (defective water heater products with $14 million settlement); and Bergman v. DAP Products, Inc., (D. Md.) (consumer action related to XHose garden hoses).
Dom J. Rizzi's career spans more than 40 years as a trial lawyer, state appellate judge and adjunct professor of law. He became of counsel to the firm in 1996, and his practice encompasses antitrust, investor and consumer protection class action litigation.
In the area of antitrust, Judge Rizzi participated in the settlements of the multidistrict class actions involving the thyroid drug Synthroid and the Coumadin brand drug thinner, as well as the $64 million multistate settlement of a coordinated antitrust action against the major pharmaceutical manufacturers on behalf of consumers who bought brand name prescription drugs from retail pharmacies. He also was involved in the $230 million settlement of three antitrust lawsuits alleging price-fixing of cell phone service in California's major markets. In the securities area, he has worked on the Bank One and USN Communications securities fraud class actions on behalf of investors.
He has tried at least 39 cases to jury verdict, and briefed and argued more than 100 appeals. In 1977, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed him to the Circuit Court of Cook County. After a year on the circuit court bench, Judge Rizzi was elevated to the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, where he served from 1978 to 1996.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Director of the American Antitrust Institute
Ellen Meriwether has been a partner with the firm since its founding in 1992. She concentrates her practice in the area of antitrust litigation and has held leadership positions in a number of the firm's important antitrust cases including: In re Cattle Antitrust Litig., (D. Minn.); In re Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litig., (D.N.J.); In Re Restasis (Cyclosporine Ophthalmic Emulsion) Antitrust Litig., (E.D.N.Y); Kamakahi v. American Society for Reproductive Medicine, (N.D. Cal.); In re Ductile Pipe Fittings Antitrust Litigation (D.N.J.); Nichols v. SmithKlineBeecham Corp. (E.D. Pa.); In re Relafen Antitrust Litigation (D. Mass.), and Todd. v. Exxon (2d Cir.).
Meriwether is a Director of the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) and is a 2021 inductee into the AAI Private Enforcement Hall of Fame. She has served on the Editorial Board of ANTITRUST, a magazine published by the Antitrust Law Section of American Bar Association for the past 11 years, including three years as Editorial Board co-chair. Ms. Meriwether has authored a number of amicus briefs submitted both in the United States Supreme Court and in various Circuit Courts of Appeals, including briefs before the Supreme Court in Tyson Foods Inc. v. Bouaphakeo and in American Express v. Italian Colors..
Ms. Meriwether received her law degree magna cum laude from George Washington University, where she was a member of the George Washington Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Her undergraduate degree was conferred with highest honors by LaSalle University.
Since 2010, Ms. Meriwether has been included in the US News and World Report Publication of "Best Lawyers in America" in the field of Antitrust Law, and she has been named a "Pennsylvania Super Lawyer" every year since 2005. Ms. Meriwether has attained the highest rating, "AV", from Martindale-Hubbell.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Member of the Seventh Circuit Council
Jennifer W. Sprengel began her legal practice in 1990 and has handled a variety of commercial litigation matters in federal and state courts. She joined the firm in 1992 and is resident in its Chicago, Illinois Office. She serves as the firm's managing partner. Ms. Sprengel is an experienced class action litigator in a wide variety of complex litigation matters. Her experience includes antitrust, commodities, securities and consumer law claims. Ms. Sprengel has played major roles as co-lead counsel in actions involving such name-brand prescription drugs as Coumadin and Synthroid, and products such as CertainTeed. Federal Judge Herman Weber praised Ms. Sprengel's work on the co-lead counsel team as having provided "the highest professional service" to clients.
Ms. Sprengel is a member of the Seventh Circuit Council on eDiscovery and Digital Information, formerly known as the Seventh Circuit's E-Discovery Pilot Program, which was initiated as a process to develop, implement, evaluate and improve pretrial litigation procedures to provide fairness to all parties while seeking to reduce the cost and burden of electronic discovery consistent with Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. She is a frequent speaker and author on the topic of eDiscovery. She serves as co-chair of the Antitrust Law subcommittee of the ABA Class Action and Derivative Suits committee.
Education
Ms. Sprengel is a 1990 graduate of DePaul University College of Law, where she was a member of the DePaul University Law Review and served at the DePaul Legal Aid Center as a 711-licensed student attorney. Her undergraduate degree was conferred by Purdue University in 1987.
Kaitlin Naughton joined Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP in 2019 and is resident in its Chicago, Illinois office.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate at Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP 's Chicago
Mr. Motta is an Associate at Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP's Chicago office. Mr. Motta joined Cafferty Clobes after earning his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2024, where he served as a Certified Legal Intern for the Civil Practice Clinic.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate at Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP 's Chicago
Mohammed A. Rathur is an Associate at Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP's Chicago office. Prior to joining Cafferty Clobes, Mr. Rathur worked at a boutique class action law firm specializing in employment and data privacy rights. Mr. Rathur's prior experience includes serving as a judicial law clerk in the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County for two years.
Mr. Rathur earned his law degree from the American University Washington College of Law in 2019, where he served as a Student Attorney for the International Human Rights Law Clinic. Mr. Rathur graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. in International Relations.
Nabihah Maqbool is an associate in the Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel's Chicago office. Ms. Maqbool has experience leading matters in state and federal courts at every stage of litigation. Prior to joining Cafferty Clobes she was an associate at boutique litigation firms in Washington D.C. and Chicago, with cases ranging from complex commercial and arbitral matters, civil rights, plaintiff-side employment disputes, to serving as outside counsel for non -profit organizations. Ms. Maqbool began her career as a litigation fellow and as a staff attorney at national impact litigation organizations focused on vindicating plaintiffs' constitutional rights.
Ms. Maqbool earned her law degree from the University of Chicago in 2018, where she received the Thomas R. Mulroy Prize for Excellence in Appellate Advocacy and Oral Argument, the Edwin F. Mandel Award for Exceptional Contributions to the Law School Clinical Education Program, and with pro bono honors.
Ms. Maqbool graduated from the University of Missouri Honors College with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and a Master of Public Health with Delta Omega Honors.
Nickolas Hagman joined Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP in 2019 and is based in its Chicago, Illinois office. Prior to joining Cafferty Clobes, Mr. Hagman was an associate at a plaintiff-side consumer class action firm for five years. Mr. Hagman's prior experience includes serving as a judicial clerk in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court for two years, and working for the late Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice N. Patrick Crooks, and current Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet.
Patrick E. Cafferty is one of the Firm's founding partners and has three decades of litigation experience in high profile class action litigation. Mr. Cafferty has represented clients in all the firm's major industry areas, including pharmaceuticals, airlines, cellular and telephone, financial services, insurance, technology and manufacturing, with recent emphasis on antitrust and consumer fraud and protection.
Mr. Cafferty has been actively involved in a number of the firm's successful actions, including In re TriCor Indirect Purchaser Antitrust Litigation (D. Del.) (consumer and third party settlement: $65.7 million); In re Relafen Antitrust Litigation (D. Mass.) (consumer and third party settlement: $75 million); In re Cardizem CD Antitrust Litigation (E.D. Mich.) (consumer and third party settlement: $80 million); In re Warfarin Sodium Antitrust Litigation (D. Del.) (consumer and third party payor settlement: $44.5 million), Lorazepam & Clorazepate Antitrust Litig. (D.D.C.) (settlement of consumer and third party, together with Attorney General actions: $135 million); and In re Synthroid Marketing Litigation (N.D. Ill.) (consumer settlement: $84.7 million). In Telesphere Securities Litigation, Judge Milton I. Shadur characterized Mr. Cafferty's credentials as "impeccable." 753 F. Supp. 176, 719 (N.D. Ill. 1990).
From 1983 to 1985, Mr. Cafferty served as a prehearing attorney for the Michigan Court of Appeals and as Clerk to Judge Glenn S. Allen, Jr. of that Court.