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Biography

Mr. Summers, a civil and white collar criminal defense litigator, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1984, where he served as an Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and was awarded the Mark A. Lefever Prize for Law and Economics. He received his B.A. magna cum laude from Wesleyan University in 1980. From 1984 to 1986, Mr. Summers served as law clerk to the Honorable Thomas N. O'Neill, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Summers has received numerous recognitions, including having been selected as a Leader in Litigation by Chambers USA, and a Best Lawyer in America in Commercial Litigation and a Super Lawyer in Business Litigation in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Summers is deeply involved in serving the community and Bar.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Reinvestment Fund, where he is Vice Chair and a member of the Executive Committee. He is also a Director of the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia.  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. From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Summers 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, a chair of the Professional Responsibility Committee and a member of the Professional Guidance Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association.

Mr. Summers is active in teaching and education. He is Lecturer-in-Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he teaches “Appellate Advocacy,” and he has frequently lectured on trial practice, legal ethics, and professionalism matters. From 1985 to 1988, he was a member of the Board of Trustees of Wesleyan University. His practice includes complex commercial litigation, health care, ERISA, professional malpractice and misconduct, construction, employment, intellectual property and general business cases. Mr. Summers also serves as legal counsel to Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin.

Education

University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1984
J.D.

Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 1980
B.A., Economics
magna cum laude
Phi Beta Kappa; Sigma Xi

Clerkship

United States District Court for the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania, Honorable Thomas N. O'Neill, Jr., Law Clerk, 1984 - 1986

Honors and Awards

Named as Leader in Litigation by Chambers USA:  America's Leading Lawyer's for Business (2006, 2007)

Selected as a Best Lawyer in America in Commercial Litigation (2007) as a result of a peer review survey by attorneys in the United States.

Named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer in Business Litigation in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, as a result of a statewide poll of lawyers and judges conducted by Law & Politics.

Awarded the University of Pennsylvania Law School Mark G. Lefevre Prize for Law and Economics, 1984

Law Review:  Editor, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 1983-1984

Professional Associations and Memberships

American Law Institute, Member, 2005 -
     Member, Consultative Group for Principles of Aggregate Litigation

Philadelphia Bar Association
     Member, Board of Governors , 1998-2000
     Co-Chair, Professional Responsibility Committee, 1992-1992
     Member, Special Committee to Investigate District Attorney's
     Review of Judge Frederica Massiah-Jackson, 1992-1992
     Member, Nominating Committee, 1995
     Member, Professional Guidance Committee

Philadelphia Bar Education Center
     President, 1996-1997
     Vice President , 1995

Philadelphia Bar Foundation
     Treasurer, 2006
     Secretary, 2005
     Member, Hamilton Circle
     Trustee, Chair, Grants Committee, 2002-2004

Attorney Conservator, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Disciplinary Board, 1995
Hearing Board Member and then Chair, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Disciplinary Board, 1999-2004

Community

The Reinvestment Fund
   Vice Chairman, Board of Directors; Member, Executive Committee; Chair 
   Director, World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, 2007 - Present

Neighborhood Club of Bala Cynwyd, Secretary, 1998 - 2000

Teaching / Lecturing

Lecturer-in-Law, University of Pennsylvania, 2003 - Present

Lecturer on a variety of topics, including presentations on professional responsibility issues at Temple Law School and Villanova Law School; as part of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association continuing legal education programs; and to the Energy Law & Mineral Rights Law Foundation.

Bar Admissions

Pennsylvania, 1984
United States District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1984
United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit, 1984