PA
Education
University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2007, JD, cum laude
University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Executive Editor
Yale University, 2001, BA, cum laude, with distinction in Religious Studies major
Clerkship
Hon. Marjorie O. Rendell, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2007 – 2008
Admissions
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
U.S. Court of Appeals:
Third Circuit
U.S. District Courts:
Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Middle District of Pennsylvania
Western District of Michigan
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Eli Segal
Eli Segal represents businesses and individuals in a wide variety of complex litigation. He is a native Philadelphian and, after graduating from Penn Law School in 2007, began his legal career clerking for the Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. After clerking, Eli spent 13 years in the Philadelphia office of Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP — as an associate and then as a partner. He joined LSSC at the beginning of 2022, drawn by the prospect of working with the firm’s exceptional litigators (and people) and by the unique benefits that a litigation boutique like LSSC offers to clients.
Eli’s diverse litigation practice has included defamation, invasion of privacy, right of publicity, higher education, intellectual property, fiduciary duty, False Claims Act, RICO, trusts and estates, real estate, antitrust, unfair trade practice, fraud, breach of contract, tortious interference, and intentional infliction of emotional distress cases. He has extensive experience in First Amendment and media law and regularly represents journalists and news organizations. Eli is listed in Best Lawyers in America and in Chambers USA, where he was described as “tremendously responsive, savvy, pragmatic and a great problem-solver.”
Community involvement has always been important to Eli. He is a board member of the Juvenile Law Center and maintains an active pro bono practice focused on constitutional law.
Before becoming a lawyer, Eli worked on affordable housing issues at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. He lives in Philadelphia with his three children and his wife, a pediatrician.
Awards & Recognitions
Named a “Super Lawyer” by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, 2023
Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 2018 – 2023
Listed in Chambers USA, 2020 – 2022
Named a “Rising Star” by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, 2017 – 2019
Named a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” by The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly, 2015
University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Executive Editor and Board Member
See Award Methodologies here
Leadership & Community Involvement
Board Member
Juvenile Law Center
2020 – present
Core Class Member
Leadership Philadelphia
2019
Board of Governors Representative
Philadelphia Bar Association
2017
Public Interest Section Executive Committee Member
Philadelphia Bar Association
2014 – 2016 (Vice Chair, 2015; Chair, 2016)
Adjunct Associate Professor of Law, Freedom of Expression
Rutgers University School of Law – Camden
2015
Selected Speaking Engagements
Panelist
The Grand Jury Process
Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts
July 2021
Panelist
Journalists, Judges and Counsel: The Tension Between a Fair Trial and an Informed Public
Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts
July 2020
Presenter
The Public’s Right of Access
First Judicial District of Pennsylvania Judges’ Retreat
September 2019
Panelist
Coffee with Your Counsel
News Leaders Association News Leadership Conference
September 2019
Presenter
Update on Pennsylvania Defamation and Invasion of Privacy Law
Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Media Lawyers Conference
July 2019
Presenter
The First Amendment, Court Proceedings, and Judicial Records
Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts and University of Pennsylvania Law School
March 2019
Panelist
Letting the Sunshine In: A Look Back at the 10-Year History of the Right to Know Law and a Glimpse of the Future
The Caucus
March 2019
Presenter
What’s the First Amendment Got to Do with It
Pennsylvania Bar Institute
October 2018
Panelist
Litigating a First Amendment Case
Pennsylvania Bar Association Civil Rights Symposium
April 2018
Presenter
Hot Issues in Social Media
American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law Annual Conference
March 2018
Panelist
Internet Defamation
Pennsylvania Bar Institute
February 2018
Presenter
Hot Issues in Libel and Privacy
American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law Annual Conference
February 2017
Panelist
Third Circuit Update: Decisions Affecting Commercial Litigation
Pepper Hamilton Commercial Litigation CLE
June 2016
Panelist
Current Issues in New Jersey Media Law
Rutgers Institute for Information Policy & Law (RIIPL), N.J. Press Association, N.J. Chapter of Society of Professional Journalists, and Center for Cooperative Media
February 2016
Selected Publications
Co-author, Pennsylvania Chapter in Media Law Resource Center’s 50-State Survey on Media Libel Law (2012 – 2021, updated annually)
Author, Insufficient Actual Malice Allegations Doom Defamation and False Light Claims, Media Law Resource Center’s MediaLawLetter, December 2019
Co-author, Can the Right of Publicity Be Squared with New York Times v. Sullivan and Its Progeny, Communications Lawyer, October 2015
Representative Cases
Represented journalists and news organizations in numerous defamation and false light invasion of privacy cases
Represented journalists and news organizations in numerous efforts to access government records and court proceedings
Represented journalists and news organizations in connection with subpoenas relating to confidential sources and newsgathering
Represented news organization in opposing prior restraint against publication of confidential government document
Represented journalists and formerly incarcerated community leaders in successful challenge to constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s Revictimization Relief Act, which had permitted courts to enjoin and penalize speech that caused crime victims mental anguish
Represented two media companies in copyright suit based on movie imagery
Represented educational institutions in Title IX, civil rights, and breach of contract actions challenging outcomes of, and procedures followed in, internal investigations and disciplinary proceedings
Represented college in defamation suit based on column in student-run newspaper
Represented siding manufacturer in breach of contract action
Represented metal processor in breach of contract action
Represented management consulting company in breach of fiduciary duty action
Represented CEO and directors of wastewater treatment company in post-merger fiduciary duty action
Represented biotechnology company in RICO and fiduciary duty action
Represented shareholder of closely held corporation in arbitration of buyout dispute
Represented sellers in real estate dispute involving unfair trade practice and negligent misrepresentation claims
Represented trust in foreclosure action involving apartment building
Represented estate in dispute over ownership of Stradivarius violin
Represented hospital system in False Claims Act suit
Represented IT company, its president and CEO, and former executive in independent contractor’s tortious interference, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress suit
Represented White House Correspondents' Association in opposing White House's suspension of press passes of CNN's Jim Acosta and Playboy's Brian Karem
Represented Montgomery County residents in lawsuit alleging violation of Pennsylvania Sunshine Act in termination of public defenders
Co-authored Pennsylvania Supreme Court amicus brief on behalf of the American Bar Association in support of recognition of cause of action to challenge inadequate public defender resources
Co-authored Third Circuit amicus brief on behalf of the Society for Photographic Education in support of recognition of a First Amendment right to photograph police