Arleigh Helfer is an associate in the Litigation Services Department. He is a member of the Appellate Practice Group, the Aviation Group, the Antitrust Group, the Energy and Environmental Group, the Financial Services Practice Group, and the Class Action Group. He concentrates his practice in commercial litigation and has experience in all phases of litigation.
Mr. Helfer’s litigation practice includes representation of businesses and individuals across a wide range of subject matter. He has a broad range of commercial litigation experience, ranging from antitrust litigation to consumer financial services and products liability class action defense. He has counseled clients concerning effective legal compliance programs and with respect to Hart-Scott-Rodino filings, and assisted in the defense of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s Philadelphia casino licensing decisions in proceedings before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He has substantial appellate experience and has worked on numerous appellate matters before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Judicial Circuit and Pennsylvania’s appellate courts. He has litigated class actions both on the defense and plaintiff side. He has written amicus briefs and assisted with drafting amicus briefs in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court on civil rights issues of constitutional dimensions and on questions of the preemptive scope of federal law. Mr. Helfer also has represented individuals on a pro bono basis on issues involving civil rights and has assisted civil rights advocacy organizations with such litigation.
News & Publications
- Aviation Happenings: Summer 2022
- Aviation Happenings: Fall 2021
- Supreme Court Protects First Amendment Rights for Students’ Off-Campus Speech
- Corporate Defendants Take Note of Ford: The Supreme Court Revisits Specific Personal Jurisdiction and Adds a Gloss on the “Arises out of or Relates to” Aspect of the Analysis
- Aviation Happenings: Winter 2020
- Third Circuit Expands First Amendment Speech Protection for Students’ Off-Campus Speech
- Aviation Happenings: Spring 2020
- Sea Change in Class Action Settlement Process: A Year Under Revised Rule 23(e)
- U.S. Supreme Court Affirms Third Circuit’s En Banc Ruling Regarding FDCPA’s Statute of Limitations
- Schnader Wins First Amendment Appeal in the Third Circuit
- Aviation Happenings – Fall 2019
- Third Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Lawsuit Against PA in Turnpike Tolls Case
- Aviation Happenings – Summer 2019
- Aviation Happenings – Spring 2019
- 2018 Harrison Awards for Pro Bono and Community Service
- Third Circuit Sets Precedent on FDCPA Statute of Limitations
- Aviation Happenings- Winter 2017
- Paul Titus and Arleigh Helfer Receive Advocacy Award
- Supreme Court Reaffirms That an Appellee Who Does Not Seek To Enlarge Its Favorable Judgment Need Not File a Cross-Appeal To Attack a Lower Court Ruling
- Schnader Defends Airline from Mistaken-Meal Suit
- Schnader Attorneys Achieve Victory for Electrical Transmission Company
- Recent Pennsylvania Superior Court Decision Highlights Importance of Objections to Preserving Issues for Appellate Review
Community & Pro Bono
Mr. Helfer’s pro bono representations focus on civil rights issues. He has represented a young woman whose private school refused to allow her to bring her seizure alert dog to classes and a student who was disciplined by her school for her off-campus speech on social media. He has assisted a prison newspaper with Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law issues relevant to excessive telecommunications fees assessed to prisoners and their families. He contributed significantly on a pro bono basis to an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in the landmark Sixth Amendment case of Kuren v. Luzerne County. For that work, he won the 2017 Alan Jay Josel Advocacy Award, presented by the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In recognition of his deep commitment to pro bono work, Schnader awarded Mr. Helfer the Earl G. Harrison Pro Bono Award in 2018.
Education
- University of Pittsburgh School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1999
- University of Maine, M.A., 1996
- Lawrence University, B.A., 1993
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania, 1999
- New Jersey, 2000
Court Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
Professional Affiliations
- American Bar Association, Member; Council of Appellate Lawyers; Council of Appellate Lawyers Pro Bono Committee, Co-Chair, 2020
Other Distinctions
- Recipient of Schnader’s Harrison Award for Pro Bono, 2018
- Alan Jay Josel Advocacy Award, presented by the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2017
- University of Pittsburgh School of Law Order of the Coif
- University of Pittsburgh Law Review, Managing Editor
