Charles Meyer is emerging as one of Greater Philadelphia’s leading matrimonial attorneys, who according to colleagues, has built a reputation as a capable, aggressive but reasonable advocate for his clients. He was recently lured away from Fox Rothschild to launch a family law practice at Elliott Greenleaf & Siedzikowski, P.C., in Blue Bell, Pa. Meyer – energetic, creative and people-oriented -- owns the traits of a classic dealmaker and negotiator, and, at 48, he is in many respects just entering the prime of his career. Meyer is clearly poised to lead his new firm’s family law practice in the years ahead. For years, a good part of Meyer’s practice has served professional athletes and celebrities, an enviable niche.

The son of a pediatrician and an educator, Meyer grew up in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, the youngest of four. He was a wrestler at Cheltenham High before going on to Temple University, where he majored in Sports Management. He went to law school “almost on a whim” based upon the advice of a mentor who assured him that a legal education would serve him well no matter where his career took him. Meyer’s first job was in Robert Morgenthau’s DA’s office in New York City, one of the law’s most prestigious career-launchers. “Most of the 450 lawyers there were under 30”; he tried 12 jury trials in four years. Returning to Philadelphia, Meyer joined the matrimonial practice of David N. Hofstein, an early and important mentor. Briefly, Meyer handled cases, including divorce matters, under a contract with Philadelphia’s Fraternal Order of Police, but clients “were less likely to listen to your advice” if the services were provided under a legal services contract the client didn't pay for.

Today, Meyer is known as a hands-on and responsive practitioner, capable of settling the most complicated matters, but unafraid of the courtroom if litigation becomes necessary. His approach with his clients, as with opposing counsel and courts, is to be practical and direct. Himself divorced and remarried, Meyer says he brings “not just sympathy but empathy” to his clients’ cases; currently he’s representing a wealthy individual in one of the largest contested cases in Montgomery County history.

Away from the office, he’s either a fan or a coach of one of his six children's sports exploits (“We’ve got five team stickers on the back of our SUV”), and he enjoys golf “where there’s time for it.” He and his wife Sheryl live in Penn Valley in Lower Merion Township.

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