David S. Shrager (1935–2005) of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

was a

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trial lawyer, author, speaker, and philanthropist. A former president of the

Association of Trial Lawyers of America The American Association for Justice (AAJ), formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) is a nonprofit advocacy and lobbying organization for plaintiff's lawyers in the United States. Focused on opposing tort reform, the organizati ...

(now known as the American Association for Justice), he specialized in major and complex civil litigation representing consumers, injured healthcare workers and individuals, and appeared before the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Judiciary of Pennsylvania, Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as ...

Career

Shrager was a founding member of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (now known as Public Justice Foundation), and was a principal founder of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association (now the Pennsylvania Association for Justice and served as president (1971–1972). A lifetime member of the

, he served as president (1983–1984), and also as president of the

Roscoe Pound Nathan Roscoe Pound (October 27, 1870 – June 28, 1964) was an American legal scholar and educator. He served as dean of the University of Nebraska College of Law from 1903 to 1911 and was dean of Harvard Law School from 1916 to 1936. He was a ...

Foundation (1985–1988), which works to preserve access to the civil-justice system. An expert in medical negligence claims, Shrager testified in 1984 and 1986 before the

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about

Medical malpractice in the United States Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with m ...

. Although a leading opponent of No-Fault Insurance, Shrager later edited the definitive treatise on the Pennsylvania No-Fault Motor Vehicle Act. He was also co-author of ''The Quotable Lawyer''. He established a Foundation, which supports artists and arts programs for disadvantaged children, as well as an endowment for research and patient care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Shrager graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1957, and from the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Carey Law, or Penn Law; previously University of Pennsylvania Law School) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Phi ...

in 1960. At Penn he was president of the debate society, an All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

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champion for epee, and a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. After graduating from the law school, he began his legal career at what became the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

law firm of Farage & Shrager. Later he was the senior partner of Shrager, McDaid, Loftus, Flum & Spivey, and finally Shrager, Spivey & Sachs. The firm he founded is now called Shrager & Sachs.

Notable cases

Notable cases for which he served as court-appointed lead counsel include a national class action on behalf of thousands of

hemophiliacs Haemophilia (British English), or hemophilia (American English) (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a long ...

with

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

-related illness. In addition, he conducted multi-district litigation on behalf of healthcare workers with

latex allergy Latex allergy is a medical term encompassing a range of allergic reactions to the proteins present in natural rubber latex. It generally develops after repeated exposure to products containing natural rubber latex. When latex-containing medical d ...

. In a 1987 lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia, Shrager represented the father of Michael Ward, aka Birdie Africa, the sole child survivor of the much-publicized 1985

MOVE Move or The Move may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Move (company), an American online real estate company * Move (electronics store), a defunct Australian electronics retailer * Daihatsu Move, a Japanese car * PlayStation Move, a motion ...

bombing and fire in

for injuries suffered in the fire. Under a 1996 settlement agreement, the Wards received $840,000.

Honors and awards

During his extensive service to the

, Shrager was chair of ATLA's organization review committee, and was named to the executive committee. He received two of its most prestigious awards: the 1995 Harry M. Philo Award in recognition of his leadership in protecting the rights of individuals through the civil-justice system; and the 2004 Leonard M. Ring Award for his distinguished service to the association. Shrager was also one of the first volunteer lawyers to participate in "Trial Lawyers Care" a major pro bono effort undertaken to aid victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. David Shrager's other professional honors included an appointment to the civil-procedure rules committee of the

(1978–1988), service as chair of the civil-litigation section of the

Pennsylvania Bar Association The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in Pennsylvania, United States. The association offers membership benefits, including publications, practice support, networking, and continuing ...

, service on the board of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (1982–1984), and appointment as a judge pro-tem of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas (1992–1998). Additionally, he served as a diplomat of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (1980–1986) and for six years on the overseers board of the Institute of Civil Justice at the

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Corporation. He was recognized for many years in ''The Best Lawyers in America'' and listed in the ''Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers''. In 2006, in honor of Shrager's lifetime of contributions to the bar, the

(now the American Association for Justice or AAJ) renamed its president's annual recognition award "The David S. Shrager President's Award." In 2007, the Philadelphia Bar Association inducted Shrager as a "Legend of the Bar." In July 2009, Shrager was inducted into AAJ's "Hall of Fame," in recognition of "outstanding integrity, upstanding character, and dedication to AAJ and to the overall public welfare of all Americans."

External links

American Association for JusticePublic JusticeTrial Lawyers Care

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shrager, David 1935 births 2005 deaths Pennsylvania lawyers University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni 20th-century American lawyers