Member
Erik Anderson represents companies, executives, and public officials in commercial litigation, government investigations, and white collar defense in Pennsylvania’s state and federal courts and nationally. His clients range from global and national companies to closely held businesses and their owners, and include healthcare systems, pharmaceutical companies, automotive dealership groups, telecommunications and technology companies, and financial institutions.
He tries fraud, RICO, and fiduciary cases, represents subjects and targets of grand jury investigations, and argues before state and federal appellate courts. He is frequently retained when a commercial dispute, a government inquiry, and a professional or reputational risk arise from the same facts. He runs them as one case.
He has represented the Pennsylvania General Assembly in litigation brought by the Governor, defended an elected official in a federal grand jury investigation led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, and served as trial counsel in a state public corruption prosecution. Before entering private practice, he spent nearly a decade in government as Deputy Chief Counsel to the General Assembly and as a Deputy Attorney General.
Commercial litigation
Erik litigates commercial disputes through trial and appeal. Much of that work concerns fraud, fiduciary duty, and control of closely held businesses: civil RICO, derivative claims for misappropriation, oppression, and buyout disputes, dissolutions, and challenges to corporate authority. He works both sides of the caption, pursuing fraud and misappropriation claims for business owners and investors and defending controlling owners and fiduciaries against self-dealing and oppression claims.
His contract and business-tort docket includes both multi-party national litigation and disputes between the owners of a single company. He also defends employers in wrongful-death, discrimination, and wage-and-hour litigation.
Government investigations and white collar defense
Erik represents individuals and companies in federal grand jury investigations, Department of Justice enforcement matters, and criminal prosecutions. He has served as trial counsel in a state public corruption case, defended an elected official in a federal grand jury investigation led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, and represented state senators, representatives, and cabinet secretaries in matters involving public corruption, computer crimes, and ethics violations. He has handled DOJ regulatory enforcement actions for pharmaceutical companies and represented corporations responding to PPP loan subpoenas. Several of these matters closed without charges.
He also conducts internal investigations for institutions facing allegations of misconduct. He uncovered an $800,000 embezzlement scheme run through fraudulent vendor relationships at a regional visitors bureau, investigated clergy misconduct allegations for a Roman Catholic diocese, examined patient-abuse allegations for a hospital system, and handled hostile-work-environment and excessive-force investigations for municipal police and fire departments.
Constitutional and governmental litigation
Erik has represented all three branches of Pennsylvania government and both political parties in constitutional and interbranch disputes, briefing and arguing those matters before state and federal appellate courts. He represented the General Assembly when the Governor sued it in the Commonwealth Court’s original jurisdiction, and again on the Governor’s King’s Bench petition to the Supreme Court. When the Senate prepared to exercise its contempt-imprisonment power for the first time in 50 years, he represented the Chief Sergeant-at-Arms in the resulting separation-of-powers dispute over legislative authority and executive privilege.
He has defended the Senate Secretary-Parliamentarian in Commonwealth Court election litigation, represented a former Speaker of the House and other legislative leaders in First Amendment and employment discrimination cases, and filed amicus briefs in Pennsylvania Supreme Court gaming litigation. He also represents private parties, including lobbying firms, in skill-game litigation, in matters raising constitutional questions.
Professional responsibility and licensing
Erik defends lawyers in disciplinary matters at every stage, from Office of Disciplinary Counsel inquiry through formal charges, hearing before the Disciplinary Board, and review by the Supreme Court. He has represented a state prosecutor in disciplinary proceedings over alleged Brady violations, state court judges before the Judicial Conduct Board, and a prominent attorney in a federal obstruction of justice investigation. He litigates disqualification motions and defends law firms against fiduciary-duty and Dragonetti claims. He also defends physicians, dentists, nurses, and other licensed professionals before the Pennsylvania Department of State’s licensing boards.
Background
Erik served as Deputy Chief Counsel to the Pennsylvania General Assembly and as Deputy Attorney General and Agency Counsel in the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, advising on constitutional questions, managing employment litigation, and conducting internal investigations. He entered private practice as lead attorney in the Harrisburg office of Myers, Brier & Kelly, LLP, and joined McNees in 2023.
Commercial litigation
Government investigations and white collar defense
Constitutional and governmental litigation
Employment litigation
Professional responsibility and licensing
Explore recent thought leadership, news, and other updates.
Attorneys Erik Anderson and Sean Campbell presented at the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Central Pennsylvania Chapter’s Spring Conference on April 2, delivering a CLE program on attorney-client privilege and the risks that arise when the client relationship is not clearly defined. Their presentation, “Who’s Your Client? How David Boies Lost His Client’s Privilege—What In-House […]
White collar defense attorneys Sarah Hyser-Staub and Erik Anderson have been ranked in Legal 500’s White Collar Crime series of the publication’s Elite City Focus for Philadelphia. Each year, Legal 500 selects leading attorneys and firms by region and practice area to include in its Elite City Focus ranking. Honorees are chosen based on peer […]
McNees announces that 46 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Among those honored, seven attorneys have been named “Lawyer of the Year” in their respective practices and regions, the highest distinction the publication offers. In addition, 41 attorneys were named to The Best Lawyers […]
Counsels public and private employers on labor and employment matters. Advises healthcare entities on compliance, risk management, privacy, and HIPAA.
Advises individuals and families on family law matters. Offers litigation, collaborative law, mediation, and prenuptial agreement counsel.
Trial attorney and practice leader, representing businesses in high-stakes commercial litigation, including contract disputes, business torts, and pipeline-energy infrastructure matters.
Represents commercial and business clients in complex contract disputes. Advises on shareholder rights, corporate governance, and injunctive relief matters.
