Peter A. von Mehren, Attorney

Peter A. von Mehren was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  He earned his bachelor's degree in history, with honors, from Harvard College.  He also earned his law degree from Harvard University Law School with honors.  After law school, Mr. von Mehren served as the law clerk to the Honorable Judge Benjamin Kaplan, retired Judge of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

At Spector Gadon & Rosen, Mr. von Mehren's practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, including anti-trust matters, employment cases, internal corporate disputes, contract cases, commercial arbitrations, reinsurance arbitrations, insurance coverage disputes, insurance regulatory matters, bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings, and regulatory issues. 

After clerking for Judge Kaplan, Mr. von Mehren was associated with the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now Wilmer, Cutler, Hale & Dorr) and Jackson & Campbell in Washington, D.C.  During this period, he represented clients in substantial commercial disputes around the country and internationally.  Notably, Mr. von Mehren served as counsel of record before the Supreme Court of the United States in the seminal immigration case of Elias Zacarias v. INS, 502 U.S. 478 (1992).  Thereafter, he joined the Philadelphia offices of Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads in Philadelphia, Pa. where he litigated complex commercial disputes on a regional and national basis. 

Mr. von Mehren has spoken on a number of complex legal issues and has published a number of law review and newspaper articles addressing such issues.  His publications include: "Industry under Attack: An Overview of Developments in Class Action Law" (DRI 2004); "The Insurance Carrier as Fiduciary: Inappropriate Judicial Lawmaking by Activist Judges in the Context of Regulated Contracts", Vol. 54, No. 1 FDCC Quarterly 37 (Fall 2003); "An Overview of the Automatic Stay", 6th Annual Bankruptcy Institute, D (PB I 2001); "The Advertising Injury Provision and Intellectual Property Coverage Claims", Law and Practice of Insurance Coverage Litigation, 7 (West 2000); "Beyond Asbestos and Environmental Litigation: Coverage Disputes in the Twenty-First Century", Tort & Insurance Law Journal, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Summer 1998); "Resale Price Maintenance: No Nod to the Rule of Reason", The Legal Times, June 20, 1988, pp. 19++; Section 546(c): "An Enigmatic Resolution to the Problem of the Status in Bankruptcy of the Reclaiming Seller", The American Bankruptcy Law Journal 27 (Summer 1986). 

Mr. von Mehren is a Member in good standing of the Massachusetts, District of Columbia and Pennsylvania Bar Associations.  He is admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals - Ninth Circuit, United States Court of Appeals -- Federal Circuit, United States Court of Appeals -- Third Circuit, United States Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, United States District Court of the District of Columbia, and the United States Court of Federal Claims.

• Seminal Immigration Case of Elias Zacarias v. INS 1992