Katie Wright Morrone
Partner
Katie has represented clients in cases across the country involving a wide range of issues, including breach of contract claims, tort causes of action, novel statutory claims, defamation, "soft intellectual property" (trademark and copyright) disputes, false advertising, and antitrust actions.
Katie also has experience in federal and state pre-litigation regulatory investigations, including work before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and New York, Massachusetts, and Utah state attorneys general.
Experience
Experience
Representative Matters
- Representing and counseling a global artist/songwriter and other clients on defamation and "soft intellectual property" (trademark and copyright) issues
- Managing all pre-trial work and the case team in litigation brought against a client pursuant to the novel Helms-Burton Act
- Representing a commercial mortgage-backed securities special servicer and related entities in multiple litigations stemming from the disposition of a major private residential development
- Represented a global artist/songwriter, and was a member of the trial team, in a landmark, high-profile sexual harassment lawsuit adverse to an on-air radio personality, resulting in a jury verdict for Venable’s client on all claims and defenses (Mueller v. Swift)
- Represented a global artist/songwriter and related companies in offensive and defensive copyright infringement suits (Hall v. Swift; TAS Rights Management, LLC v. Evermore Park LLC; LaDart v. Swift)
- Represented and successfully defended a pharmaceutical company against antitrust and Lanham Act claims, achieving dismissal at motion to dismiss stage
- Represented a highly regarded construction company in a breach of contract action stemming from engineer abdications of work during a design-build highway extension project
- Member of several defense teams for pharmaceutical manufacturers against antitrust class action claims arising from alleged "reverse payment" settlement of patent litigation (In re Solodyn Antitrust Litigation; In re Modafinil Antitrust Litigation; In re Opana Antitrust Litigation)
- Defended a multinational hospitality company in a dispute involving complicated international jurisdictional issues related to plaintiffs' claims to land in Eastern Europe; won a motion to dismiss in the Northern District of Illinois, and the decision was affirmed on appeal in the Seventh Circuit
- Represented a former president/CEO of an insurance technology company in a deceptive marketing and sales investigation by the FTC
- Represented an adult education company specializing in trading and financial education in a deceptive advertising investigation and litigation by the FTC
- Represented a company in student loan investigations before the CFPB and state attorneys general
- Secured anonymous treatment on behalf of a client suing the CFPB in federal court, which was the first time that a court had granted John Doe status to a party challenging any aspect of a CFPB civil investigative demand (CID)
Insights
Insights
Credentials
Credentials
Education
- J.D. magna cum laude American University, Washington College of Law 2014
- Order of the Coif
- Executive editor, American University Law Review
- B.A. Northwestern University 2007
- Captain, Women's Soccer Team
Bar Admissions
- Maryland
- District of Columbia
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Recognition
Recognition
- Super Lawyers, Rising Star, Washington, DC, 2020 – 2023
- The Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, 2023 – 2025
- Legal 500, Media, Technology and Telecoms - Advertising and Marketing - Transactional and Regulatory, 2023
Community
Community
Personal Activities
- Captain of her Division I college soccer team
- Avid Peloton rider
- Member, Her Legal Circle