Elizabeth Previte Morgan
Of Counsel

Elizabeth Previte Morgan is Of Counsel at the law firm of Dervishi, Levine & Morgan, P.C.  She concentrates her practice in the field of torts and labor law, drafting and advising the partners on motions filed in the New York courts, with particular emphasis on summary judgment motions.

Prior to joining Dervishi, Levine & Morgan, Ms. Morgan’s experience included drafting, negotiating, and advising financial institutions on derivative products in the municipal and tax-exempt markets as an associate in the corporate department at McDermott Will & Emery LLP.  Prior to her work in finance law, Ms. Morgan was an associate at Fensterstock & Partners LLP, specializing in complex commercial litigation.  She worked on matters such as the representation of taxpayers in tax shelter litigation against major accounting firms, the representation of senior retired partners of a major accounting firm seeking to recover revoked retirement benefits in the wake of the Enron crisis, and the representation of a pharmaceutical company in arbitration over the terms of a supply agreement.  She has prepared briefs filed in the New York state courts, as well as in the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the American Arbitration Association, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, and the International Chamber of Commerce.

While attending Villanova University School of Law, Ms. Morgan served as the Executive Editor of the Villanova Sports & Entertainment Law Journal and authored the case note, “Insert Coins to Slay! Regulating Children’s Access to Violent Arcade Games,” 10 Villanova Sports & Entertainment Law Journal 69-102 (2003).  She also served as a judicial intern to The Honorable John T.J. Kelly, Jr., of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Ms. Morgan is admitted to practice in New York and Massachusetts.

Education

Villanova University School of Law, J.D., 2003
Bowdoin College, B.A., 1998
Phillips Academy (Andover), 1994

Notable Accomplishments

In April 2010, Ms. Morgan obtained summary judgment as to liability on behalf of a janitor who was seriously injured when an air conditioner grill fell on his head while eating lunch in the building where he worked.  Ms. Morgan argued that the property owner and property manager were liable on a theory of res ipsa loquitur.  In the order, Judge Jane S. Solomon acknowledged the challenge of such a claim due to the fact that res ipsa is generally reserved for a jury, stating: “A plaintiff should win summary judgment on a res ipsa claim only in the rarest of cases[.]”  Despite the harsh standard, Ms. Morgan beat the odds, convincing the court to grant summary judgment to the plaintiff.  The summary judgment decision was the leading factor in the parties’ ultimate settlement of the case in the amount of $2.9 million for the janitor.