Steven F. Fairlie has been designated a Pennsylvania “SuperLawyer” by Philadelphia Magazine and is a holder of Martindale-Hubbell’s prestigious “AV” rating, designating preeminent lawyers in their fields.   He is one of just a handful of attorneys with offices in the Philadelphia Suburbs to be named a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” by The Legal Intelligencer in 2006, and has been rated a perfect 10.0/10.0 on AVVO.COM.

He has successfully handled numerous civil (slip and fall, auto accidents, land development litigation, etc.) and criminal trials (narcotics, DUI, capital murder, robbery, rape, etc.).  Prior to private practice, he worked on the Narcotics Team and the Major Crimes Team of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office from 1996 to 2000. He successfully argued for the death penalty in 1999 and was lead prosecutor in a case involving $55 million of cocaine.  Subsequently, as a defense attorney, he took the appeal of a client sentenced to death and convinced the prosecutor to vacate the death sentence.  He used forensic tire print evidence to prove another client not guilty of attempted murder.  In yet another case he uncovered evidence which reduced the offer on a robbery case from 25–50 years down to 2 years probation.  He represented one individual charged with 3 separate charges of DUI and had the first case dismissed at the Preliminary Hearing, the second accepted into the A.R.D. program, and the third case dismissed after a trial judge granted suppression of all evidence in the case.  Mr. Fairlie has obtained not-guilty verdicts in major jury trials involving shootings, burglaries, etc. despite positive eyewitness identifications of his clients.  On appeal, he has successfully argued for reversal of a death sentence in one case and a sentence of 70 years in another case.

In 2007, Mr. Fairlie went to trial on a case involving more than $50 million of land transactions and settled the case in the second week of trial. He has obtained six-figure settlements in numerous personal injury cases.

Mr. Fairlie often serves as a speaker for various organizations such as the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Annual (2007–2010) Criminal Law Symposium in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Montgomery and Bucks County Bar Associations, and various law enforcement training programs. He also teaches numerous other continuing legal education seminars for lawyers every year.

He earned his B.A. in Government and Law from Lafayette College in 1991 and his J.D. from The Dickinson School of Law in 1995 where he was a member of the Appellate Moot Court Board, the Environmental Law Journal, and a Chairman of the Student Bar Association. He has been Co-Chairman or Chairman of the Montgomery County Bar Association’s Criminal Defense Committee since 2001, a member of the Montgomery County Bar Association’s Trial Lawyers’ Section, a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Professionalism Committee and Civil Litigation Section, a member of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Hotline Panel of Experts Committee, a member of the Montgomery County Sexual Assault Task Force, and an Associate Member of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Mr. Fairlie’s areas of practice include civil litigation, personal injury, criminal law and construction litigation.

Mr. Fairlie enjoys scuba-diving, hunting, fishing and coaching youth sports.

Year Admitted to Practice in Pennsylvania:
1995

Areas of Practice:
50% Criminal Law
50% Personal Injury/Civil Litigation

Bar Admissions:
Pennsylvania, 1995
U.S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania, 1996
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2000
U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 2007
U.S. Supreme Court, 2002

Education:
The Dickinson School of Law, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1995
J.D.
Honors: Member, Appellate Moot Court Board
Honors: Member, Student Bar Association
Law Journal: The Dickinson School of Law Journal of Environmental Law & Policy, Member, 1994–1995

Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, 1991
A.B.
Honors: Dean’s List
Major:  Government & Law

University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Honors: With Distinction
Major:  International Government

Published Works:
“The New Greenfields Legislation: A Practitioner’s Guide to Recycling Old Industrial Sites”, 5 Dick. J. Law Envt’l 77 Pol’y, 1996
Co-Author, Montgomery County Criminal Law Handbook.  You can access the Handbook at http://www.montgomerybar.org/publications/crimLawHandbook.php

Classes/Seminars Taught:
Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Annual Criminal Law Symposium; Harrisburg
Search and Seizure for Police Officers, Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office
Criminal Law for the Family Lawyer, Montgomery Bar Association;
Criminal Consequences of Protection From Abuse Litigation, Montgomery Bar Association
Advanced Issues in Criminal Law, Montgomery Bar Association
Everything You Need to Know About the New DUI Law, Montgomery Bar Association
Mike Marino’s Killer Cross-Examination Techniques; Montgomery Bar Association
Recent Developments In Pennsylvania Sentencing, Montgomery Bar Association
Everything You Need to Know About the New Montgomery County Drug Court, Montgomery Bar Association
Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Law, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Harrisburg
How to Run a Criminal Law Practice, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Harrisburg

Should My Client Testify?, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Harrisburg

Honors and Awards:
First Attorney Ever Awarded the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Medal by District Attorney Bruce Caster, 2000Pennsylvania “SuperLawyer” Published in Philadelphia Magazine, 2010
Pennsylvania’s “Rising Star” Published in Philadelphia Magazine, 2005–2007
“Lawyer on the Fast Track” by the Legal Intelligencer, 2006

Professional Associations and Memberships:
Pennsylvania Bar Association, 1995–Present
Member

Montgomery County Bar Association, 1996–Present
Member

Hatboro Rotary, 2000–2004
Member, Paul Harris Fellow

Montgomery County Criminal Defense Committee, 2000–Present
Chairman

Philadelphia Bar Association, 2000–Present
Associate Member

PA Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2001–Present
Member

PA Trial Lawyers Association, 2002–Present
Member

Pennsylvania Bar Association
Member, Professionalism Committee

Montgomery American Inn of Court
Member

Pennsylvania Bar Association, Civil Litigation Section
Member

Montgomery County Bar Association, Trial Lawyers’ Section
Member

Montgomery County Bar Association
Member, Bench-Bar Committee

Past Employment Positions:
Abeln Law Offices, Associate, 1995–1996
Montgomery County District Attorney, Assistant District Attorney, 1996–2000

Pro Bono Activities:
Volunteer Attorney, The Innocence Project
Senior Adult Activity Center in Indian Valley, 2000
Coach, Mount Saint Joseph’s Academy Mock Trial Team (Montgomery County Champions), 2001–2004
Court-Appointed Murder Cases

Fraternities/Sororities:
Zeta Psi
Delta Theta Phi