Shawn F. Summers

Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Shawn was an associate in the Philadelphia office of a large national law firm. There, in addition to his business litigation practice, he defended media and entertainment clients asserting their rights under the First Amendment and comparable state-level speech and reporting protections. He also advised a state redistricting commission on compliance with federal and state law in its decennial legislative redistricting process.

While in law school, Shawn served as an associate editor and online managing editor for the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. He was also a founding member of the Penn Law First Generation Professionals affinity group. Shawn was a quarterfinalist in the Edwin R. Keedy Cup moot court competition and a member of Penn Law’s National Moot Court Competition team. He also served as an intern for Judge Robert B. Kugler of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Shawn maintains a robust pro bono practice divided between individual representations and impact litigation. Most notably, Shawn secured compassionate release for a medically vulnerable federal prisoner at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, over prosecutorial opposition. Other pro bono victories include a successful challenge to Philadelphia bail hearing practices (including an appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit) and securing asylum for a client who had fled from political persecution in his home country.