Sam Silver Inducted into International Academy of Trial Lawyers

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP is pleased to announce that Litigation Department Chair and Executive Committee member Sam Silver has been inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL).

Sam, who also is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, is a commercial litigator who handles and tries a wide variety of cases, ranging from commercial disputes to death penalty matters. Among other things, Sam routinely defends global manufacturers of products in litigation. He also is one of a small number of attorneys experienced in representing members of the equestrian sport in all manner of disputes and in disciplinary hearings before the sport’s governing body, the United States Equestrian Federation.

Sam’s varied trial practice is reflected in his busy docket for the upcoming months, which includes defending a prominent politician facing federal corruption charges (May 2016), defending a man facing a retrial on first-degree murder and rape charges after a new trial was ordered upon the discovery of exculpatory DNA evidence (August 2016), and defending a global product seller in a federal product liability case (September 2016). Sam is well-known as a go-to trial lawyer who can and will take any matter into a courtroom.

Sam is also widely regarded for his often-high-profile pro bono cases, which have included several capital and non-capital homicide cases. He is committed to pro bono work and capital case representation in particular. His accomplishments include successful retrials of two separate death-condemned inmates before juries, both cases resulting in unanimous verdicts for the defense. Sam has won numerous recognitions for his pro bono work, including being part of a Schnader team that won the American Bar Association’s Death Penalty Representation Project Exceptional Service Award. Sam’s commitment to public service is also reflected in the fact that he is a Vice President of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project and he is an adjunct faculty member of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he teaches a seminar about the death penalty.

Chartered in 1954, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers is an organization whose purposes are to promote reforms in the law, improve the administration of justice and elevate the standards of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession. Active academy membership is limited to 500 Fellows under the age of 70 from the United States, as well as Fellows from more than 30 other countries. Fellows are engaged in civil and criminal trial practice on both sides of the Bar. Admission to Fellowship is by invitation only, and invitation is extended only to lawyers found to possess exceptional skill in trial and appellate practice, and to have promoted the best interests of the legal profession and the highest standards and techniques of advocacy.

Sam’s recognition is noted in the Philadelphia Business Journal’s “People on the Move” section and The Legal Intelligencer‘s “People in the News” section.