Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis

Infobox Law Firm
firm_name = Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis LLP
firm_logo =
headquarters = Philadelphia, PA
num_offices = 7
num_attorneys = Approximately 200
num_employees =
practice_areas = General practice; Litigation, Business/Corporate, Family Law, Trusts & Estates
key_people = Ralph G. Wellington, Chairman; David Smith, CEO; Diana S. Donalsdon, Managing Partner (Firm-wide & Philadelphia)

revenue =
date_founded = 1935
founder = William A. Schnader
company_type = Limited Liability Partnership
homepage = [http://www.schnader.com/ schnader.com]
dissolved =

Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis LLP is a U.S. law firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in Philadelphia in 1935 by former Pennsylvania Attorney General William A. Schnader, Bernard G. Segal, a former Deputy Attorney General serving under Schnader, and Francis A. Lewis. The firm was initially named Schnader & Lewis. Eventually, Segal was added as a name partner. The fourth name partner, Earl G. Harrison, joined the firm in 1948. Today, the firm has more than 200 attorneys in seven offices nationwide.

History

In 1935, after losing his bid for Governor of Pennsylvania, William A. Schnader decided to start his own law firm. He was joined by Bernard G. Segal, who had served as a Deputy Attorney General under Schnader, and Francis A. Lewis, who had been Schnader's campaign treasurer. Earl G. Harrison, the former dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and former Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, joined the firm in 1948, becoming the fourth name partner.

In the early years, the members of the firm gained prominent clients and soon national recognition handling a major case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States. Schnader expanded its practice with the addition of a former judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Charles E. Kenworthey, and other experienced litigators from federal, state and city governments.

As the needs of the firm expanded, Schnader increased its national presence and practice capabilities by opening offices in Washington, D.C.; Wilmington, Delaware; New York, New York; Cherry Hill, New Jersey; and, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The firm opened its first West Coast office in San Francisco, California in 1999. The firm also greatly expanded its corporate capabilities by combining with the prominent firm Mesirov Gelman Jaffe Cramer & Jamieson LLP in Philadelphia. . [ [http://www.schnader.com/schnader/NEWEST_4_02/site%20Files/About/firmbackround.asp Firm history] ]

Today, Schnader has seven offices that serve local, national and international clients ranging from large corporations to start-ups and entrepreneurs to individual clients in more than 40 areas of the law. In addition to the firm’s traditional strengths in complex litigation, commercial transactions, wealth management, and family law, the firm has significant experience and depth in intellectual property, international commerce and labor laws, financial services, construction law, real estate development, corporate governance, appellate services, technology-based companies, media and communications, government relations and regulatory affairs, aviation issues, business reorganization, and securities and shareholder litigation.

The success of the firm and the growth of its practice areas have not diminished the central and unifying mission established by the founders: a commitment to excellence in practicing law; responsiveness to clients, including adherence to high ethical standards and the pursuit of truth and fairness; and, steadfast commitment to service to the communities in which the attorneys and their clients work and live.

A tradition of pro bono and community service

The firm and its attorneys have also come to be known for their leadership and dedication to public service. This is a tradition that stems directly from the firm's founders. Bernard Segal, who established himself as a champion for civil rights, described the hallmark of the firm as its "dedication to the higher calling," that is, "the lawyer's obligation to assume an active role in the pursuit of a just and ordered society, in helping to solve the emerging problems of social, economic and political importance to serve the public as his or her client, as she or he would serve a full-paying client." From the start, the name partners set the example of that dedication to public service. Segal served as Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association from 1952-53, and President of the American Bar Association from 1969-70. Mr. Segal served as a founder and co-chairman of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

William A. Schnader dedicated nearly twenty years of his life to the organization, drafting, development and promotion of a nationwide system of business law, which earned him the title, "Father of the Uniform Commercial Code," much of it accomplished while in a wheelchair following a crippling stroke. For this "conspicuous service to American jurisprudence," he was awarded the Gold Medal of the American Bar Association in 1960. His public service included many other contributions, including five years' work as Chairman of the American Bar Association Bill of Rights Committee (the forerunner of the present Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities), service as Attorney General of Pennsylvania under two successive governors, during which he directed major new codifications of the laws of corporations and banking, and service as President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 1962-63.

Earl G. Harrison is best remembered for his inspection tour of former Nazi concentration camps at the end of World War II and his forthright recommendation to President Truman that the displaced persons who then occupied those camps be permitted to resettle in Palestine if they so chose. Mr. Harrison's report has been credited by some historians as a crucial step in the development of United States support for the Republic of Israel. He also served as Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and, among other public service posts, as director of the American Civil Liberties Union and of the NAACP.

Francis A. Lewis, III, born to a socially-prominent Philadelphia family, broke new ground when he decided to leave his position as a partner in a well-regarded Philadelphia firm to join with William A. Schnader in creating a new law firm, known as Schnader & Lewis, whose commitment to excellence would embrace public service with as much vigor as it did the more traditional functions of a private law firm. Mr. Lewis' life was tragically cut short less than ten years later.

Practice areas

Schnader has a well-respected family law department, and has an extensive business practice, including bankruptcy, bond finance, antitrust, employee benefits, and other areas related to corporate law. The firm also has departments for aviation law and intellectual property.

Notable lawyers and alumni

* Arlin M. Adams, former judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1969 to 1987)
* Timothy K. Lewis, former judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [ [http://www.schnader.com/NEWEST_4_02/site%20Files/attorneys/attorneyBio.asp?attyID=217 Timothy K. Lewis firm bio] ]
* Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, worked at Schnader after graduating from Columbia Law School. [ [http://www.palawweekly.com/plw/getarticle.aspx?ID=23352 "You (Probably) Can't Go Home Again; Pennsylvania Law Weekly article, 10 July 2007] ]
* William H. Brown, III, former Chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
* James J. Eisenhower, 2004 Democratic candidate for attorney general of Pennsylvania
* Steven R. Johnson, currently serving as the General Counsel of the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)

Offices

* Cherry Hill, NJ
* New York, NY
* Philadelphia, PA
* Pittsburgh, PA
* San Francisco, CA
* Washington, DC
* Wilmington, DE

References

External links

* [http://www.schnader.com/ Homepage]
* [http://www.lawperiscope.com/profiles/213.html LawPeriscope profile]
* [http://www.vault.com/companies/company_main.jsp?co_page=1&product_id=22114&ch_id=242 Vault.com profile]
* [http://www.martindale.com/Schnader-Harrison-Segal-Lewis/law-firm-193361.htm Profile] from LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell