Spencer R. Short

Spencer R. Short

Overview

Spencer Short is a trial and appellate litigator representing a wide array of private, governmental and institutional clients in state, federal and tribal courts, as well as before domestic and international arbitration panels. From challenging experts’ opinions in complex multidistrict litigation to constitutional questions of first impression, Spencer’s practice focuses on resolving his clients’ most complicated issues with forceful advocacy and unmatched clarity. A published author and a graduate of the renowned Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Spencer’s writing combines creativity and analytical rigor in a manner designed to cut through thorny problems and busy dockets alike. 

Prior to joining Stradley Ronon, Spencer worked for a prominent New York law firm, where he focused in mass torts and complex litigation. He is also a dedicated pro bono advocate, working closely with a variety of civil and human rights organizations – most prominently, contributing extensive briefing and research to The Innocence Project’s Strategic Litigation team in its on-going battle against forensic pseudoscience. This effort continues advocacy Spencer began in law school at the University of Chicago, where he worked for the MacArthur Justice Center on civil rights- and national security-related constitutional issues.

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Results

Representative Matters

  • devised strategy and drafted briefs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on behalf of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, resulting in a reversal of federal district court’s ruling that the House pre-session prayer practice was unconstitutional
  • directed legal strategy and briefing in federal district and appellate court on behalf of Commonwealth General Assembly in constitutional challenge to insurance statute
  • defeated petition for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, on behalf of Buddhist temple
  • secured dismissal on pleadings in insurance dispute, on behalf of insurance broker
  • secured dismissal on the pleadings in a federal RICO action brought against a municipal insurance pool
  • defeated certification of a putative nationwide class on behalf of a major property insurer in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
  • recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of a pharmaceutical manufacturer in a series of international arbitrations against excess insurers
  • achieved a favorable settlement in a bellwether wrongful death suit on behalf of an energy drink company
  • defeated an interlocutory appeal to the federal Fifth Circuit by the State of Louisiana, preserving removal of a parens patriae class action suit against numerous insurers
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Credentials

Bar Admissions
  • Pennsylvania
  • New York
Court Admissions
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Education
  • J.D., University of Chicago Law School
  • M.F.A., The University of Iowa Writers' Workshop
  • M.F.A., University of Michigan
  • B.A., cum laude, James Madison University

Publications

Recognitions

  • Empire State Counsel® Honoree
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