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The Corporate Practice Group provides services in a wide variety of areas: entity formation, nurturing emerging businesses, corporate governance, corporate finance and operation and growth of mature enterprises.

Major Corporate Services

  • Public and private equity and debt offerings
  • Representation of investors as well as businesses
  • Corporate governance
  • Mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances
  • Antitrust counseling
  • Broker dealer and financial advisor matters 
  • Tax planning and corporate counseling for family and management succession
  • International expansion of U.S. businesses
  • Domestic representation of non-U.S. businesses
  • Interfacing with governmental agencies
  • Lobbying legislation and governmental bodies
  • Franchising
  • Business agreements of every description:
    • Sales/leasing
    • Manufacturing
    • Distribution/supply
    • Service
    • Technology transfer/licensing
    • Employment/consulting
    • Executive compensation
    • Joint venturing
    • Web sites/marketing

Drilling Down – The Nuts and Bolts of Schnader Corporate

More detailed information about specific aspects of our corporate practice is available in the following areas:

  • Working with the corporate client
  • Emerging companies practice
  • Family business practice
  • Nonprofit practice
  • Securities practice
  • Mergers and acquisitions practice
  • International practice
  • Health law practice
  • Antitrust and trade regulation practice
  • Aviation practice

Other Practice Groups

The Corporate Practice Group calls on other practice areas within the Firm to support our business clients:

  • Finance – The Finance Practice Group provides lenders of every nature with a full range of sophisticated legal services required for the extension of credit and the enforcement of obligations. Our experience includes transactions involving asset-based lending, real estate financing, syndicated credits, public finance and bankruptcy and creditors’ rights.
  • Litigation – For decades, Schnader’s reputation has been built on its litigation practice. There is no area of commercial, employment or antitrust law in which Schnader lawyers have not advanced the law in federal and state courts across the country.
  • Labor and Employment – Our Labor and Employment Practices Group handles virtually all aspects of employment engagement, including planning, compliance, and dispute resolution, with full capacity to deal with unionization and NLRB issues.
  • Tax – Many of our services are highly tax-dependent. Experienced local, national and international tax attorneys support business and compensation planning for both emerging and established companies.
  • Intellectual Property – In addition to trademark, copyright and trade secret skills, we prosecute and defend patents; process patents; and have experience in biotech, mechanical, electrical, chemical, software and business methods.
  • Banking and Lending – Our Financial Services Practice Group represents banks and other lenders in almost every type of credit facility. In addition to introduction to possible financing sources, our lending attorneys can guide corporate clients through a practical evaluation of borrowing possibilities, designing structured financings and securitizations, saving time and avoiding unrealistic expectations.
  • Insolvency and Creditors’ Rights – Our Insolvency Team has reorganized public and private enterprises in many industries, from real estate to manufacturing, from distributors to retailers, from technology to steel. We help you to recover your assets and loan values and to deal with financially impaired trading partners.
  • Real Estate – Our Real Estate Practice Group represents developers, contractors, architects, landlords and tenants of commercial, industrial, office and retail space. We have sited, permitted and helped build biotech facilities, corporate parks and many special-use facilities presenting difficult zoning and environmental challenges, as well as represented clients in developing hotels, entertainment venues and stadia for major league sports franchises.

If you have an interest in any additional practice areas that are not listed, please ask us about them.

Whom Do We Represent?

As you might expect, an extremely broad spectrum of clients:

All Types – domestic, foreign, public and private corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and ventures

All Sizes – Fortune 500 companies, successful mid-market enterprises, startups and emerging technologies

Many Industries – manufacturing, distribution, food, retail, service, technology, energy, banks and venture capitalists. See the list below. Ask us about our experience in your area.

Our attorneys have substantial experience in representing participants in the following industries:

  • Airlines
  • Alcoholic beverage distributors
  • Apparel
  • ASPs
  • Automobile dealers
  • Automotive parts suppliers
  • Banks
  • Biotechnology
  • Broker-dealers
  • Catalog sales
  • CCRC/assisted living
  • Circuit boards
  • Consulting companies
  • Contract labor providers
  • Crane manufacturers
  • Cryogenics
  • Drug store chains
  • Educational companies
  • Electronic materials and devices
  • Electronics manufacturers
  • Employment agencies
  • Energy service companies
  • Environmental service companies 
  • Franchise associations
  • Franchisers and franchisees
  • Freight companies
  • Hospitals
  • HVAC companies
  • Insurance agencies
  • Insurers
  • International trading companies
  • Internet infrastructure providers
  • Investment advisors
  • Investment brokers
  • Lending companies
  • Medical devices
  • Medical groups
  • Motor coach
  • Nonprofits
  • Nursing homes
  • Office services
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Photovoltaic
  • Plastics manufacturers
  • Port operators
  • Product design
  • Publishers
  • Recycling operations
  • Resort and gaming industry
  • Software
  • Steel manufacturers
  • Telecom
  • Toy/games manufacturers
  • Trade and industry groups
  • Universities and colleges
  • Utilities
  • Venture capital firms and funds
  • Wholesale food distributors
  • Wireless tower companies

Our Attorneys

Arthur N. Brandolph

Arthur N. Brandolph

215-751-2048

Philadelphia, PA

abrandolph@schnader.com

 215-751-2048 Philadelphia, PA
Albert S. Dandridge, III

Albert S. Dandridge, III

215-751-2178

Philadelphia, PA

adandridge@schnader.com

 215-751-2178 Philadelphia, PA
Elliot Dater

Elliot Dater

412-577-5214

Pittsburgh, PA

edater@schnader.com

 412-577-5214 Pittsburgh, PA
Alexandra A. Fahringer

Alexandra A. Fahringer

215-751-2015

Philadelphia, PA

afahringer@schnader.com

 215-751-2015 Philadelphia, PA
Walter B. Ferst

Walter B. Ferst

215-751-2370

Philadelphia, PA

wferst@schnader.com

 215-751-2370 Philadelphia, PA
Megan E. Harmon

Megan E. Harmon

412-577-5209

Pittsburgh, PA

mharmon@schnader.com

 412-577-5209 Pittsburgh, PA
Sarah Hewitt

Sarah Hewitt

212-973-8123

New York, NY Philadelphia, PA

shewitt@schnader.com

 212-973-8123 New York, NY Philadelphia, PA
Brad M. Jacobs

Brad M. Jacobs

212-973-8075

New York, NY Philadelphia, PA

bjacobs@schnader.com

 212-973-8075 New York, NY Philadelphia, PA
George H. Kalikman

George H. Kalikman

415-364-6734

San Francisco, CA

gkalikman@schnader.com

 415-364-6734 San Francisco, CA
Joseph E. Lundy

Joseph E. Lundy

215-751-2525

Philadelphia, PA

jlundy@schnader.com

 215-751-2525 Philadelphia, PA
H. Lee Schwartzberg, Jr.

H. Lee Schwartzberg, Jr.

215-751-2283

Philadelphia, PA

lschwartzberg@schnader.com

 215-751-2283 Philadelphia, PA
Joseph Tiger

Joseph Tiger

212-973-8155

New York, NY

jtiger@schnader.com

 212-973-8155 New York, NY

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The Higher Calling Of The Law Requires...

Inclusion. When Pennsylvania Attorney General William Schnader left politics and sought to return to private practice in Philadelphia, he discovered that no major Philadelphia law firms would hire his protégé, Bernard Segal, a Jewish attorney. In response, in 1935, William Schnader, Bernard Segal and Francis Lewis formed a new law firm, Schnader & Lewis -- the first religiously integrated law firm in Philadelphia.

Innovation. Because Schnader was religiously integrated from its founding, many local clients in the Philadelphia area would not retain the firm in the 1930s and 1940s. Accordingly, the firm sought to represent larger, national companies.

Vision. Firm founder William Schnader was president of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, which drafted and developed the Uniform Commercial Code. He successfully campaigned for the Code's adoption in 49 states.

The pursuit of freedom. At the request of President Truman, firm founder Earl Harrison, as Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, toured displaced persons camps at the end of World War II and recommended to the President that displaced persons in Europe be permitted to resettle in Palestine. His report was a major factor that led to American support for the establishment of Israel.

The pursuit of justice. Firm founder Earl Harrison testified on behalf of an African-American student denied entry to the University of Texas School of Law because of his race. The case challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine, as applied to state law schools and laid the foundation for Brown v. Board of Education. The Supreme Court eventually overturned the lower courts' decisions and ordered the University of Texas to admit qualified black applicants.

Courage. Firm founder Bernard Segal convinced the Philadelphia bar to defend nine accused Communists pro bono. The defendants were convicted but their cases were thrown out on appeal. As a result, the Justice Department abandoned Smith Act prosecutions across the country.

The pursuit of justice. When George Wallace threatened to block integration of the University of Alabama, Schnader’s Bernard Segal drafted a statement in opposition. He and Jerome Shestack called lawyers all over the country requesting their support. The statement was published in the Birmingham News with 53 prominent lawyer signatories and provided support for President Kennedy's Executive Order federalizing the Alabama National Guard.

The pursuit of justice. In the wake of George Wallace's efforts to impede the integration of the University of Alabama, and at the urging of Schnader’s Bernard Segal, President Kennedy convened 244 lawyers at the White House to ask them to move the battle for civil rights and racial equality to the courts. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law was born and Jerome Shestack became its full-time executive director while continuing to practice at Schnader.

Inclusion. Firm founder Bernard Segal was chair of the ABA’s Committee on the Federal Judiciary. He advocated the appointment of federal judges of all genders and races.

Inclusion. Firm founder Bernard Segal was the first Jewish person to serve as Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association. He encouraged the bar into public service and expanded its racial horizons.

Inclusion. Schnader was one of the first major Philadelphia firms to hire a female attorney.

Diversity. Schnader was a founding member of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group, which aims to increase the number of diverse attorneys in-house and in private practice.

Inclusion. The firm appointed Albert Dandridge as Chief Diversity Officer and charged him with increasing and developing our bench of diverse attorneys.

Service. The firm adopted Caton Village (now closed), a halfway house for women in Philadelphia, where we provided free legal clinics and social and educational activities for its residents.

Service. Schnader lawyers regularly represent undocumented children who were abused or abandoned by their parents. We help these children obtain guardians, stop removal proceedings, and begin the path to citizenship.

Service. As U.S. veterans waited an average of four years for a ruling on the denial of their disability benefits, Schnader attorneys led a campaign advocating for a solution to address the backlog.

The pursuit of justice. Schnader attorneys represented Guantanamo Bay detainees, advocating for fair treatment and due process against a byzantine legal landscape.

Service. With a nonprofit partner, Schnader attorneys and staff designed and taught a pilot life skills seminar for young adults aging out of the foster care system. The program included lessons on securing vital documents, opening a bank account, looking for jobs and going to an interview.

Service. Schnader attorneys help middle school students in Pittsburgh set up a youth court, prepare for mock trials and draft a bill of rights for their school. The students learn about Constitutional law, advocacy and restorative justice from participating in these programs.

Service. Bernard Segal, a founder of the firm, believed that Schnader's hallmark is its "dedication to the higher calling of the law," which he defined as "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, and to serve the public as his or her client, as she or he would serve a full-paying client."

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