Our People
Attorneys
University of Pennsylvania Law School
One Logan Square
18th & Cherry Streets, 27th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103-6933
Fax: 215.568.0300
Biography
John S. Summers, a civil and white-collar criminal defense litigator, graduated in 1984 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he served as an editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and was awarded the Mark E. Lefever Prize for Law and Economics. He received his BA, magna cum laude, from Wesleyan University in 1980. From 1984 to 1986, John served as law clerk to the Honorable Thomas N. O’Neill, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
John has received numerous recognitions, including having been selected as a Leader in Litigation by Chambers USA, a Best Lawyer in America in Commercial Litigation, a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer in Business Litigation, and a local Litigation Star by Benchmark.
John is deeply involved in the community and the bar. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Reinvestment Fund, where he is Chair and a member of the Executive Committee. Recently, he was the subject of an article entitled "Reinvestment Fund's Leaders Change, Not Role," which appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer (February 7, 2012). He is involved in many professional organizations including the American Law Institute, and formerly served as the Treasurer and Secretary of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation. John currently is the East Coast Solicitor to the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges, where he counsels judges of the court of Common Pleas on ethics matters raised by the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board. From 1999 to 2004, John also served as a Member and then Chair of a hearing panel of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He was also the President of the Philadelphia Bar Education Center, a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Board of Governors and Professional Guidance Committee, and Chair of the Professional Responsibility Committee.
John is active in teaching and education. He is a former Adjunct Profesor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he taught Appellate Advocacy from 2003 - 2010. He has also frequently lectured on trial practice, legal ethics, and professionalism. From 1985 to 1988, he was a member of the Board of Trustees of Wesleyan University.
John’s practice includes complex commercial litigation including health care, ERISA, professional malpractice and misconduct, construction, employment, intellectual property, and general business cases. John also serves as Legal Counsel to Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller.
Education
University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1984, JD
Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 1980, BA, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi
Clerkship
The Honorable Thomas N. O’Neill, Jr., United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1984 – 1986
Honors and Awards
- Named a Leader in Litigation by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, 2006 – 2012
- Best Lawyers in America, selected as a Best Lawyer in America in Commercial Litigation, 2008 – 2013
- Named by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers magazine as one of Pennsylvania's top attorneys in Business Litigation (2004 – 2013) as the result of a statewide survey of lawyers
- Named a Local Litigation Star by Benchmark: The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys (2009 – 2012)
- Awarded the University of Pennsylvania Law School Mark E. Lefevre Prize for Law and Economics, 1984
- University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Editor
Publications
- "Promotional Enforcement: A Potential Current Inflection Point," The Pharmaceutical Compliance Monitor, February 6, 2013 (with Dylan J. Steinberg)
- "The Court of Judicial Discipline: A Review of the First Twenty Years," Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly, January 2013 (with Rebecca S. Melley)
- "Caronia: A Serious First Amendment Rebuke to Federal Off-Label Marketing Prosecutions," The Legal Intelligencer, January 13, 2013 (with Dylan J. Steinberg)
- "The 'Full' Method of Measuring the Court's Review of Decisions by the Courts of Appeals," SCOTUSblog, October 23, 2012 (with Michael J. Newman)
- "First Circuit Reversal Rate Not What It Seemed," Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, January 30, 2012 (with Michael J. Newman)
- "The Third Circuit's Reversal Rate: A Success Story," The Legal Intelligencer, November 10, 2011 (with Michael J. Newman)
- "Towards a Better Measure and Understanding of US Supreme Court Review of Courts of Appeals Decisions," BNA's The United States Law Week, September 27, 2011 (with Michael J. Newman)
- "Justices Weigh In on Pharma Marketing, Corporate Speech, Data Privacy," The Legal Intelligencer, August 8, 2011 (with Dylan J. Steinberg)
- "'Matrixx,' Materiality, and Statistical Significance," The Legal Intelligencer, April 28, 2011 (with Michael J. Newman)
- "Imagine the Plausibilities: Life After Twombly and Iqbal," Litigation, Winter 2011
- “Supreme Court Revisits and Reaffirms Twombly in Ashcroft v. Iqbal,” The Legal Intelligencer, June 1, 2009
- “Rule 502’s Attempt to Clarify Scope of Attorney-Client Privilege Waivers,” The Legal Intelligencer, January 1, 2009
- "Needed in Law and Society: A Parent-Child Privilege," The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 26, 1998 (with David J. Wolfsohn)
- "Each Firm Needs Ethics Committee," The Legal Intelligencer, October 16, 1995
- "The Case of the Disappearing Defendant: An Economic Analysis," University of Pennsylvania Law Review, December 1983
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Pilot Legis, Board of Directors, 2010 - present
- Eastern Pennsylvania Solicitor to the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges, 2009 – Present
- American Law Institute, 2005 – Present
- Consultative Group for Principles of Aggregate Litigation
- Consultative Group for Principles of Government Ethics
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Disciplinary Board
- Member and Chair, Hearing Board, 1999 – 2004
- Philadelphia Bar Association
- Board of Governors, 1998 – 2000
- Nominating Committee, 1995
- Co-Chair, Professional Responsibility Committee, 1992
- Special Committee to Investigate District Attorney’s Review of Judge Frederica Massiah-Jackson, 1992
- Professional Guidance Committee
- Philadelphia Bar Education Center
- President, 1996 – 1997
- Vice President, 1995
- Philadelphia Bar Foundation
- Treasurer, 2006
- Secretary, 2005
- Hamilton Circle
- Trustee, Chair, Grants Committee, 2002 – 2004
- Attorney Conservator, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Disciplinary Board, 1995
Community
- The Reinvestment Fund, 2000 – Present
- Chairman, Board of Directors
- Member, Executive Committee
- Board Member, Pennsylvania Innocence Project, 2011 – Present
- Secretary, Neighborhood Club of Bala Cynwyd, 1998 – 2000
Teaching / Lecturing
- University of Pennsylvania, Adjunct Professor of Law, 2003 - 2010
- Lecturer on a variety of topics, including presentations on professional responsibility, legal ethics, and trial practice
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania
- United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania