Meredith R. Aska McBride
Associate / Chicago

P: 312-881-5951

mmcbride@goldmanismail.com Save as PDF

Meredith is a creative, thoughtful, and strategic advocate who represents clients in all phases of complex civil and criminal matters. Her experience spans the lifecycle of a case, including investigating and developing the factual record, strategizing discovery, leading and drafting dispositive motions, preparing and deposing fact and expert witnesses, and preserving issues for and subsequently litigating appeals. Meredith’s approach draws on her cross-disciplinary methodological training, leveraging technical and complex bodies of evidence to craft compelling written and oral advocacy. With a particular focus on clients in highly regulated industries such as healthcare, banking, and insurance, she has successfully defended products liability and other complex actions, civil and criminal securities matters, and False Claims Act suits, and navigated government and regulatory investigations to favorable outcomes. She also has significant experience representing False Claims Act plaintiff-relators at both the district court and appellate levels, and currently focuses her False Claims Act practice exclusively on the relator side. Meredith’s pro bono practice focuses on education issues, criminal appeals, and post-conviction proceedings, and she has litigated, and won, several cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Outside her client-facing practice, Meredith is committed to increasing access, equity, and inclusion within and beyond the legal profession for people with disabilities and caregiving responsibilities, and is a frequent speaker on these topics. She lives with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and ADHD, and serves on several different boards and committees related to disability issues. Meredith is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where she teaches education law and advises students in the Senior Research program. She is a former co-director of Northwestern's Supreme Court Clinic.

Prior to joining Goldman Ismail, Meredith practiced at a national law firm and clerked for Judge David F. Hamilton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Judge Edmond E. Chang of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She graduated first in her class from Northwestern Law, where she also served as the inaugural empirical articles editor for the Northwestern University Law Review. Before law school, Meredith worked as a musician, educator, and social scientist.

  • Scientific, Medical, and Products Liability
    • Member of lead national science and expert team for Eli Lilly in litigation concerning GLP-1 receptor agonist medications.
    • Represented medical device company in multiforum products liability litigation.
    • Currently serving as patient-expert in drafting updated international consensus diagnostic guidelines for the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and related connective tissue disorders.
    White Collar, Investigations, Government Enforcement, and False Claims Act
    • Appointed as deputy special prosecutor in high-profile prosecutorial misconduct case, with primary responsibility for briefing and appellate strategy. Won rare interlocutory appeal, securing the prosecution’s ability to introduce critical evidence.
    • Represented financial institution in complex multistate False Claims Act litigation, including drafting successful motion to reconsider dispositive issue; handled cross-jurisdictional appellate strategy and served as member of trial team.
    • Represented financial institution to highly favorable resolution in cross-border Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation.
    • Represented individual corporate officers in SEC investigation.
    • Represented plaintiff-relator in suit leading to one of the largest False Claims Act settlements ever against a defense contractor.
    • Drafted opening brief in landmark appellate victory for False Claims Act plaintiff-relator.
    Complex Commercial, Securities, and Shareholder Litigation
    • Drafted successful motion to dismiss on behalf of health insurer in Medicaid class action.
    • Represented public company in Delaware indemnification dispute.
    • Drafted dispositive motions on behalf of accounting firm in parallel federal and state securities class actions.
    Appellate and Supreme Court
    • Drafted interlocutory appeals, appeals of right, petitions for certiorari, and merits briefing in Illinois, Tennessee, and California state courts.
    • Drafted merits and amicus briefing in more than a dozen U.S. Supreme Court cases, including as counsel of record.
    • Drafted numerous petitions for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding regulatory and criminal defense issues, including two successful petitions:
      • Brown v. U.S., 2023
      • Kahler v. Kansas, 2019
    • Associate, Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP
    • Associate, Sidley Austin LLP
    • Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (J.D., summa cum laude)
      • John Paul Stevens Prize (first in class)
      • Order of the Coif
      • Empirical Articles Editor, Northwestern University Law Review
      • Lowden-Wigmore Prize
      • Bornet & Scott Hodes Prize
      • Senior Research Honors
      • Kirkland and Ellis Scholar
      • Arlyn Miner Book Award
    • The University of Chicago (Ph.D., A.M. in Ethnomusicology)
      • Urban Doctoral Fellow
    • University of Pennsylvania (B.A. in Music, magna cum laude with distinction)
    • Honorable David F. Hamilton, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
    • Honorable Edmond E. Chang, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
    • Adjunct Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
    • Member, Law School Fund Board, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
    • Board Member, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Associate Board
    • Chair, Disability Alumni Affinity Group, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
    • State of Illinois
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
    • U.S. District Court, District of New Mexico
    • U.S. District Court, N.D. of Illinois – General
    • U.S. Supreme Court