Morgan E. M. Harrison

Partner

Direct: 404.873.8148
Fax: 404.873.8149
Atlanta
171 17th Street NW
Suite 2100
Atlanta, Georgia 30363

Biography

Morgan is a partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Employment practices. She is also a member of the Payments Systems & Fintech, Background Screening, and Emerging Technologies industry teams.

Morgan represents large and small public and closely held companies, payment processors, consumer reporting agencies, fiduciaries, government entities, and individuals.  She handles a wide variety of matters involving contract disputes, business torts, class actions, Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) litigation, fiduciary disputes, and fraud and misrepresentation claims. Her experience includes work at both the trial and appellate levels across the country.

In the payments space, Morgan spends a significant portion of her practice representing the acquiring side of the industry — including processors, ISOs, and payment facilitators — in an array of litigation and compliance issues. Her practice handling disputes includes litigating with merchants over chargebacks, reserves, data breaches, and early termination fees. She also has experience representing payments companies in government investigations by the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Morgan assists clients with preparing and revising the various contracts required to facilitate the acquiring relationship, including merchant agreements. On the compliance and regulatory side, Morgan advises clients on compliance with card brand rules, including complex issues regarding surcharging, convenience fee, and cash discounting programs.

On the employment side, Morgan advises clients on claims involving discrimination and harassment, wage and hour issues, restrictive covenants, and employment contracts. She has experience practicing before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and handling employment disputes in state and federal courts.

In her work on the Background Screening team, Morgan defends consumer reporting agencies and employers against claims under the FCRA, including individual claims, nationwide class actions, and indemnification demands.

Morgan is also at the forefront of one of the fastest emerging areas in environmental law — litigation over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”). Since 2016, Morgan has represented multiple companies within the carpet manufacturing industry in PFAS litigation brought in state and federal courts in Georgia and Alabama. Morgan has also published several articles with the American Bar Association and spoken at the Georgia Environmental Conference on the state of play in PFAS regulations and emerging trends in PFAS litigation.

Morgan lives in Marietta, Georgia, with her husband and two children.

Credentials

  • Vanderbilt University Law School, Juris Doctor
    • Articles Editor, Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
    • Executive Associate Justice, Moot Court Board
    • Semi-Finalist, Vanderbilt Intramural Moot Court Competition
  • Furman University, Bachelor of Arts - French & Political Science,
    summa cum laude
    • Phi Beta Kappa
  • State of Georgia 2015
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 2022
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit 2022
  • Supreme Court of Georgia 2020
  • Court of Appeals of Georgia 2017
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia 2016
  • French ( Proficient )

Recognition

  • Best Lawyers in America®: Ones To Watch, Commercial Litigation, 2023-24
  • Standing With Our Neighbors (“SWON”) Attorney of the Year Award, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, 2020
  • Safe and Stable Homes Volunteer of the Year Award, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, 2019

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