Phillip Cramer excels in monetizing claims, pursuing redress, and securing recoveries for plaintiffs in antitrust cases. He has assisted corporate claimants in obtaining recoveries exceeding $1 billion. He also handles high-impact civil rights actions to redress constitutional rights violations.
A highly intelligent, out-of-the-box thinker, and creative problem-solver, Phil meshes book smarts and innovation with practicality, finding ways to approach cases that others may fail to see.
Phil began his legal career as a trial attorney in the Honors Program of the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division. There he gained invaluable experience and an insider’s perspective, which he leverages along with his antitrust knowledge, 25 years of experience, and his understanding of economics to develop case strategies and build strong cases.
In the high-profile civil rights realm, Phil has brought cases asserting the rights of immigrants, women, the LGBTQ community, prisoners, and others, as well as voting, privacy, death penalty relief, and marriage equality rights. For these efforts, he has received the Tennessee Bar Association’s Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award and the ACLU-TN Benjamin S. Pressnell Bill of Rights Award. Phil also teaches a class in civil rights litigation as an adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt Law School.
Versatile and skilled, Phil is equally comfortable and adept at brainstorming and crafting trial strategy, drafting a brief, cross-examining a witness at trial, arguing before a judge, and educating a client on case opportunities. He stays on top of the latest trends in the law and was among the first to develop the opt-out practice area.
Upon graduating from law school, Phil served as law clerk to the Honorable Karen LeCraft Henderson of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. A former Rhodes Scholar finalist, he has authored three books, including The Fight for Marriage: Church Conflicts and Courtroom Contests, which recounts his journeys within his church and the Supreme Court in the fight for marriage equality.
Honors & Awards
Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers 2016-2022
Woodward/White: The Best Lawyers In America 2013-2022
Benchmark Litigation 2015-2022
Attorney for Justice Tennessee Supreme Court Pro Bono Service Award 2015-2021
Nashville Business Journal Forty under 40, 2012
Representative Matters
Represented several large merchants in pursuing litigation against Visa and MasterCard, and subsequently against American Express, for violations of the Sherman Act that cost those merchants hundreds of millions of dollars in supracompetitive fees paid to the payment networks. We litigated the initial wave of merchant litigation against Visa and MasterCard for six years before obtaining a favorable result for the clients. Likewise, we litigated the only merchant litigation against American Express and did so until the eve of trial, when that case too was favorably resolved. Visa/MasterCard/Amex Antitrust Litigation. In re: Payment Card Interchange Fee & Merch. Disc. Antitrust Litig. (E.D.N.Y.) & In re: American Express Antitrust Litig. (E.D.N.Y.).
Represented several large grocers and other large purchasers in antitrust litigation against the country’s largest chicken producers based on violations of the Sherman Act arising from coordinated efforts by the producers to restrict output and inflate prices. We litigated the case for over five years, defeating numerous summary judgment and other case dispositive motions along the way. The matter resulted in numerous favorable settlements for our clients prior to trial. In re: Broilers Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 1:16-cv-08637 (N.D. Ill.).
Represented several large grocers and wholesalers in multidistrict antitrust litigation against the three largest packaged tuna manufacturers and their respective foreign parent companies who were alleged to have conspired to fix the price of packaged tuna. By employing litigation strategies and leveraging wins on motions to dismiss and summary judgment, we were able to obtain favorable settlements early in the case with the majority of the defendants and ultimately settled with all defendants before trial. In re Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 15-md-2670 (S.D. Cal).
Serving as counsel in a number of pending antitrust cases involving health insurance, agricultural commodities, PBMs, pharmaceuticals, payment mechanisms, smartphones, eBooks, audiobooks, and sports.
Represented same-sex couples seeking recognition of their marriage from the district court to U.S. Supreme Court that resulted in the landmark ruling by the Court in favor of marriage equality for the entire nation.
Represented a woman detained for driving without a U.S. driver’s license while nine and a half months pregnant who was shackled during labor and childbirth. Helped secure a legal ruling that led to the end of the practice of shackling women in labor nationwide.
Represented a class of approximately 100 workers who were subject to Trump’s then-largest workplace raid in a case against the IRS, ICE, and DHS agents, resulting in a landmark settlement in the workers’ favor.
Professional Activities
Professional Memberships
Member of the American Bar Association
Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law
Teaching Experience
Adjunct Professor of Law, Vanderbilt Law School
Practice Areas
Clerkships
- Law clerk to the Honorable Karen LeCraft Henderson, United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Education
J.D., Vanderbilt University, 2000
- Order of the Coif
- John Wade Scholarship (full scholarship and stipend)
B.A., University of Richmond, summa cum laude, 1997
Bar Admissions
- Tennessee
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
- U.S. D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
