Business Disputes: It’s What We Do
Photo of attorneys E. Kelly Conway, Michael E. Gehring and Stephen G. Harvey
Attorney Stephen G. Harvey

Practice Areas

  • Commercial Litigation
  • Business Disputes
  • Executive Litigation
  • Complex Litigation
  • Intellectual Property Litigation
  • Business Torts
  • Defamation
  • Constitutional & Statutory Litigation
  • Environmental Litigation
  • Contracts Litigation
  • Fraud Litigation

Biography

Steve Harvey is an accomplished litigator and trial attorney. For over 30 years, Steve has represented people, families, companies, and nonprofits in important cases involving contracts and commercial litigation; fraud, defamation, and other torts; intellectual property such as trademarks and trade secrets; employment, including non-competes and confidentiality contracts; fiduciary duties of directors and officers; estates and trusts litigation; and numerous state and federal statutes. Steve has litigated multiple cases that have gained national media attention, including a 2005 federal case that upheld the teaching of evolution in public school science class and a 2013 federal case that saved the life of a child and led to changes in organ transplant policy. Although Steve spends the vast majority of his time actually litigating cases and working in court as a trial lawyer, his clients most greatly value the time he spends counseling them in confidence. Prior to founding his firm in 2013, Steve practiced for 20 years, including over ten years as a partner at Pepper Hamilton LLP. Early in his career, Steve worked as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where he represented federal agencies in important national civil litigation matters. At the start of his career, Steve served as a law clerk for the late Judge Myron H. Bright of the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. He graduated magna cum laude from Villanova University School of Law in 1989, where he served as managing editor of the Villanova Law Review. Steve maintains an active pro bono practice. He has served in leadership positions in the American Bar Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Temple American Inn of Court. He has submitted numerous amicus curiae “friend of the court” briefs in state and federal courts to support civil and environmental justice causes. He is zealously dedicated to helping his clients with their most pressing legal problems. His law firm motto is to counsel each client as if they are his only client.

Education

  • Villanova University School of Law, Villanova, Pennsylvania
    • J.D. - 1989
    • Honors: magna cum laude
    • Honors: Member, Order of the Coif
    • Honors: National Moot Court Champion
    • Honors: Managing Editor of Villanova Law Review
  • University of Massachusetts
    • B.A. - 1982

Bar Admissions

  • New Jersey
  • District of Columbia
  • Massachusetts
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Court District of New Jersey

Professional Associations

  • American Bar Association, Member
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association, Member
  • Philadelphia Bar Association, Member
  • Temple American Inn of Court, 1999 to Present

Published Works

  • Just a Theory on People and Climate Change, Oregon State Bar, Sustainable Future Section, The Long View, at 3 (Spring 2015)
  • Why Every Lawyer Should Care About Climate Change, Pennsylvania Bar Association Environmental & Energy Law Section 2015 Newsletter
  • Climate Change: Time to Act, The Philadelphia Lawyer (Winter 2015)
  • Defending Darwin, Litigation, Fall 2010 (37:1)
  • Enforcing the Non-Compete and Confidentiality Duties of High-Level Executives, 1998 Employment Law Update (Aspen Law & Business 1998)
  • The Pattern Requirement in Civil RICO Is Working: Case law After Sedima, 33 Vill. L. Rev. 205 (1988)

Representative Cases

  • Porat v. Temple University, No. 1278 EDA 2022, 2023 WL 2533204 (Pa. Super. Ct. Mar. 16, 2023)
  • Povacz v. Pennsylvania Pub. Util. Comm'n, 280 A.3d 975, 982 (Pa. 2022)
  • Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper v. Keystone Protein Co., 2021 WL 632734, No. 1:19-CV-01307 (M.D. Pa. 2021)
  • CPR Mgmt., S.A. v. Devon Park Bioventures, L.P., 19 F.4th 236 (3d Cir. 2021)
  • In Re Senior Health Ins. Co. of Pennsylvania In Rehab., 266 A.3d 1141 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2021)
  • Ctr. for Investigative Reporting v. Se. Pennsylvania Transportation Auth., 975 F.3d 300 (3d Cir. 2020)
  • Bank of Hope v. Chon, 938 F.3d 389 (3d Cir. 2019)
  • League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania v. Boockvar, 219 A.3d 594 (2019)
  • EQT Prod. Co. v. Dep't of Env't Prot. of Commonwealth, 645 Pa. 642, 181 A.3d 1128 (2018)
  • Williams v. City of Philadelphia, 647 Pa. 126, 188 A.3d 421 (2018)
  • Ryu v. Hope Bancorp, Inc., No. 18 CIV. 1236 (JSR), 2018 WL 1989591 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 26, 2018)
  • Alzheimer's Inst. of Am., Inc. v. Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, No. CIV.A. 10-6908, 2011 WL 3875341 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 31, 2011), aff'd, 560 F. App'x 996 (Fed. Cir. 2014)
  • Barlee v. First Horizon Nat. Corp., No. CIV.A. 12-3045, 2013 WL 706091 (E.D. Pa. Feb. 27, 2013)
  • Murnaghan v. United States Dep't of Health & Hum. Servs., No. CV 13-3083, 2013 WL 12403073 (E.D. Pa. June 5, 2013)
  • Mwantembe v. TD Bank, N.A., 669 F. Supp. 2d 545 (E.D. Pa. 2009)
  • People of California, ex rel. Herrera v. Check "N Go of California, Inc., No. C 07-02789 JSW, 2007 WL 2406888 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 20, 2007)
  • U.S. ex rel. Sanders v. Am.-Amicable Life Ins. Co. of Texas, 545 F.3d 256 (3d Cir. 2008)
  • Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, 400 F. Supp. 2d 707 (M.D. Pa. 2005)
  • Yeboah v. U.S. Dep't of Just., 345 F.3d 216 (3d Cir. 2003)
  • Victaulic Co. v. Tieman, 499 F.3d 227 (3d Cir. 2003)
  • Harrell v. Chrysler Fin. Co., 811 A.2d 597 (2002)
  • Johnson v. W. Suburban Bank, 225 F.3d 366 (3d Cir. 2000)
  • Collins v. Algarin, No. CIV. A. 95-4220, 1998 WL 10234 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 9, 1998)
  • Ford Motor Co. v. Ins. Co. of N. Am., 41 Cal. Rptr. 2d 342 (1995)
  • Randle v. Bentsen, 19 F.3d 371 (7th Cir. 1994)
  • Dickerson v. Dep't of Just., No. CIV. A.90-CV-60045AA, 1991 WL 337422 (E.D. Mich. July 31, 1991), aff'd, 992 F.2d 1426 (6th Cir. 1993)
  • Rose Acre Farms, Inc. v. Madigan, 956 F.2d 670 (7th Cir. 1992)
  • Armstrong v. Bush, 807 F. Supp. 816 (D.D.C. 1992)
  • Universal Health Servs. of McAllen, Inc. v. Sullivan, 770 F. Supp. 704 (D.D.C. 1991), aff'd, 978 F.2d 745 (D.C. Cir. 1992)

Honors

  • Hyman-Goodman Award for Academic and Extracurricular Excellence from Villanova University School of Law
  • William R. Klaus Pro Bono Award from Pepper Hamilton LLP
  • Pro Bono Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Clarence Darrow Award from the National Center for Science Education
  • Civil Libertarian of the Year Award from the ACLU of Pennsylvania
  • Public Service Award from Villanova University School of Law Alumni Association
  • Super Lawyers Award Selectee (Top 5% of Attorneys in the State), 2006 - 2010, 2013 - present

Lectures & Presentations

  • Wandering 40 Days in the High-Profile Case Desert: What to Consider When the Media is an Interested Party, a lecture and discussion with Lauri Lebo and Eric Rothschild, for the Delaware Bar Association in Wilmington, DE, as part of a CLE Program titled “Reflections on the 13th Anniversary of the Intelligent Design Case, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District and Its Legal Implications” (November 1, 2018)
  • Practical and Ethical Considerations in Dealing with Expert Witnesses, a lecture at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia as part of a CLE program titled “Scientific Expertise in the Courtroom” sponsored by Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law and the Science History Institute (March 29, 2018)
  • Going Green: How Environmental Sustainability Improves Your Bottom Line, a panel presentation on sustainability and its positive impacts for business at the Center for Leadership of Neumann University (September 10, 2015)
  • Lawyers, the Law, and Climate Change, a lecture and discussion with Yolanda Pagano, for the New York City Bar Association, Environmental Law Committee, in New York, NY (May 14, 2015)
  • Lecture and demonstration of direct and cross examination techniques as part of a program titled “Trial of a Federal Court Case” by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (July 23, 2014)
  • Panel Presentation titled “Making the Private Practice Leap” for the Philadelphia Bar Association (June 4, 2014)
  • Organ Allocation Meets the Judicial System: Thoughts on the Sarah Murnaghan Lung Allocation Case, a lecture at Southern Illinois Healthcare/Southern Illinois University (May 16, 2014)
  • Panel Presentation titled “Effective Depositions of Financial and Economic Experts” for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (April 23, 2014)
  • Creationism on Trial: Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, the 21st Century Monkey Trial, lecture at Marshall University, in Huntington, WV (April 1, 2014)
  • Organ Allocation Meets the Judicial System: Thoughts on the Sarah Murnaghan Lung Allocation Case, a lecture at a meeting of the American Health Lawyers Association in Washington, DC (January 23, 2014)
  • Religious Liberty and Public Education, a lecture at the University of New Orleans (October 24, 2013)
  • Presentation on e-discovery at the Legal Intelligencer’s annual Litigation Summit in Philadelphia (September 20, 2013)
  • UDAAP in the Age of the CFPB, a presentation for the ABA Committee on Consumer Financial Services in Naples, FL (January 6, 2013)
  • Presented a webinar titled “Mastering the Science of Cross Examination” for Lorman Educational Services (February 17, 2012)
  • Fair Lending ― Compliance, Risk and Liability, an invited speaker for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission in San Antonio (August 2, 2011)
  • Litigation and Dodd-Frank ― Possible Effects on Consumer Litigation, a presentation at the ABA Section of Business Spring Meeting in Boston (April 14, 2011)
  • Selected Issues in the World of Social Media, a presentation at the Delaware Valley Corporate Counsel Association annual in-house conference in Philadelphia (April 7, 2011)

Activities

  • Judge Pro Tem, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas (2010-present)
  • Master, Temple American Inn of Court (1999-present)
  • Past Board Member and Past President, The Homeless Advocacy Project
  • Founder, A Call to the Bar: Lawyers for Common Sense on Climate Change
  • Past Chair, Environmental and Energy Committee, Philadelphia Bar Association
  • Past Chair, Litigation Subcommittee, Committee on Consumer Financial Services, Business Law Section, American Bar Association

Past Positions

  • Hon. Myron H. Bright, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, Law Clerk, 1989 to 1990
  • Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division, Washington, D.C., Trial Attorney, 1990 to 1993
  • Crowell & Moring LLP in Washington, DC, Litigation Associate, 1993 to 1995
  • Pepper Hamilton LLP, Associate, 1995 to 2000
  • Pepper Hamilton LLP, Partner, 2000 to 2013