Merritt A. Cole

Merritt A. Cole is a business lawyer and Counsel at Earp Cohn P.C. and Chair of the Securities Law Practice Group. He represents businesses in securities and corporate matters, including public and private offerings, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital investments, control contests, SEC reporting and compliance, corporate governance, and general business counseling. His clients range from development-stage companies to public companies and financial institutions, including broker-dealers, investment advisers, and banks.

Merritt earned a J.D. with honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he served as an Associate Editor of the Law Review. He earned a B.A., cum laude, from Yale University. Before private practice, he worked at the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC, serving as a Branch Chief in the Division of Market Regulation. He later practiced with Shearman & Sterling in New York before moving to Philadelphia.

Merritt has represented businesses and individuals in enforcement actions brought by the SEC, state securities commissions, stock exchanges, and FINRA. He has represented broker-dealers and customers in securities arbitrations and has served as an expert witness and arbitrator. His transactional work includes financing and corporate-control matters, while his regulatory work addresses reporting, compliance, and enforcement risk. He has taught securities regulation and advanced corporate practice at several law schools.

Merritt A. Cole has held senior leadership positions in professional organizations connected to business and securities law. He has chaired the Business Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association and its Securities Regulation Committee and has served in leadership roles with the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section. He was admitted as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2016. His practice combines corporate transactions, securities regulation, governance, enforcement defense, arbitration, and business counseling.

Law Office Affiliations

• Attorney, Earp Cohn P.C.
• Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Member, New York State Bar Association
• Chair of the Securities Regulation Committee, Philadelphia Bar Association, Business Law Section
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation (2016)
• Chair of the State and Local Bar Relations Committee, American Bar Association, Business Law Section (2015 – 2018)
• Member (Until Merged as the PA Department of Banking and Securities), Attorney Advisory Committee of the Pennsylvania Securities Commission

Licensed State

• Pennsylvania
• New York

Education

• University of Connecticut School of Law
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• Yale University
  Bachelor of Arts (BA) (Cum Laude)

Awards & Badges