Timothy K. Lewis

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Senior Counsel
Business Litigation

Biography

Former federal appeals judge Timothy K. Lewis serves as a mediator, arbitrator, settlement counselor, and trial and appellate practitioner.

Before entering private practice, Judge Lewis served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He was serving on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania when President George H. W. Bush elevated him to the Court of Appeals in 1992. At the time of both appointments, he was the youngest federal judge in the United States. Before being appointed to the federal bench, Judge Lewis served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania and as an Assistant District Attorney in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

As a federal judge, Judge Lewis tried, decided, and authored opinions in all types of matters that came before the federal courts, particularly in the areas of employment disputes, class actions, intellectual property, and commercial and corporate disputes. He has developed a national and international alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) practice working with many of the world’s leading corporations. Additionally, Judge Lewis provides strategic counseling and conducts moot courts for various federal appellate matters in circuit courts throughout the country. Judge Lewis also handles federal and state criminal cases and corporate investigations.

Judge Lewis is a prolific thought leader and is often asked to speak at events and comment on breaking news and industry trends. He’s been quoted by media outlets such as the Associated Press, The New York Times, Reuters, NPR, MSNBC, ABC News, CBS Pittsburgh, NBC Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Public Radio (WESA), Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Voice of America News, Dispute Resolution Magazine, Bloomberg Law, and Law360 among others. He has written articles for The Brookings Institute, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, Politico, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Huffington Post, The National Law Journal, The Pennsylvania Lawyer, Texas Lawyer, The Legal Intelligencer, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Morning Call, Constitution Daily, ThinkPorgress.org, For the Defense, and more.

Outside the Firm

Judge Lewis enjoys history and biography, music of all genres (especially jazz and funk), training for triathlons, and spending time with his family—especially his granddaughter.

Related Services

Experience

Pro Bono

  • Judge Lewis was one of four former federal appeals judges who took the unprecedented step of filing an amicus brief on behalf of Delma Banks in the United States Supreme Court in 2003, in a case in which the court overturned the death penalty.
  • During the fall of 2003, Judge Lewis chaired and moderated a series of national town meetings and congressional-style hearings called by Amnesty International on the subject of “Racial Profiling, Pre- and Post-9/11.”
  • In December 2002, Judge Lewis served as the U.S. representative on an international faculty of judges and mediators during a U.S. AID-sponsored Mediation Roundtable in the Republic of Croatia.
  • In February 2008, Judge Lewis served as a Delegate to the U.S.- Russian Roundtable Conference on International Peace in Moscow, which was an outgrowth of the G-8 Summit, and delivered the opening statement on behalf of the U.S. Delegation.
  • Judge Lewis is a co-chair of the National Committee on the Right to Counsel, a bipartisan committee established by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and the Constitution Project to review the indigent defense system throughout the nation and create consensus recommendations for necessary reforms.
  • Judge Lewis has filed many amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court in cases ranging from the death penalty to bankruptcy matters to judicial ethics.
  • In 2014, Judge Lewis advised Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf on the constitutionality of imposing a moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania, which was adopted and implemented by the Governor.
  • In 2016, Judge Lewis testified before Senate Democrats on the pending nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the United States Supreme Court.

News & Views

See all News and Views

Recognitions

Judge Lewis has received many awards and honors, both as a judge and as an attorney, including:

  • 2023, “Lawyer of the Year” in Pittsburgh, PA, for Mediation, listed in Best Lawyers
  • 2010–2023, Administrative/Regulatory Law, Appellate Law, Arbitration, Commercial Litigation, and Mediation, listed in Best Lawyers in America©
  • 2015 and 2022, “Lawyer of the Year” in Washington, D.C. for Arbitration, listed in Best Lawyers
  • 2012–2013, 2019–2022, “Pennsylvania Super Lawyer” for Appellate Law, listed in Super Lawyers
  • 2019, Outstanding Contribution to Diversity in ADR, by the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution
  • 2016, Pennsylvania Leadership Excellence Award, by the National Diversity Council
  • 2015, “Diverse Attorneys of the Year,” listed in The Legal Intelligencer
  • 2013, “Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer” for alternative dispute resolution, listed in Super Lawyers
  • 2010, “Champions and Visionaries,” honoring attorneys who have gone the extra
  • mile to enhance the business of law and ensure justice is done, listed by the editors of The National Law Journal and the Legal Times
  • “Lawdragon 500 Leading Judges in America,” listed in Lawdragon Magazine
  • “Outstanding Director Award,” given by the American Arbitration Association to a member of the organization’s Board of Directors who has distinguished themselves through their singular and outstanding efforts in furthering the Association’s mission of service and education in the field of conflict management
  • “Minority Bar Committee Award of Achievement,” given by Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • “Outstanding Achievement Award,” given by Duquesne University School of Law
  • “Distinguished Alumni Award,” given by The Kiski School
  • “Athletic Hall of Fame,” listed by The Kiski School

Affiliations

Professional Activities
  • American Arbitration Association’s Dispute Resolution Journal, Board of Editors
  • Co-chair of the Practitioner Reading Group of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary for the Supreme Court nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson, and member of the Practitioner Reading Group for the nominations of Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor
  • Eradicate Hate Global Summit, board member and treasurer
  • American Law Institute, member
  • Keep Our Republic, Pennsylvania Advisory Council
  • American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, honorary fellow
  • College of Commercial Arbitrators, fellow
  • American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), former board and executive and diversity committee member; AAA National Task Force on Issues Related to the Arbitration of Consumer Debt Disputes, member; AAA Judicial Settlement Conference Service Panel, member; AAA Master Mediator Panel, member; Mediation Strategy Committee, AAA Council of Board Committees
  • CPR-International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, former board member; CPR Panel of Distinguished Neutrals, member; Former National Chair of CPR Diversity Task Force; Employment-Related Mass Claims Task Force, member
  • The Council on Criminal Justice, member
  • The Appellate Project, advisory board member
  • The Hear Foundation, board member
  • American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (“ACS”), member of national board of directors
  • The Constitution Project, Washington, D.C., former board member; co-chair of the National Right to Counsel Committee
  • Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness, member
  • Georgetown University Law Center Supreme Court Institute, Board of Advisors
  • Duquesne University School of Law, Dean’s Advisory Committee, member; Advisory Committee on the Appellate Advocacy Curriculum, member
  • The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, Advisory Board, former member
  • The Peter Jennings Project for Journalism and the Constitution, former board member
  • House of Delegates, Pennsylvania Bar Association, former member
  • Edward Coke Inn of Court, former member
  • Allegheny County Bar Association (various committees)
  • Ashley Addiction Treatment (Havre de Grace, Maryland), board member

Community

  • Boule (national post-baccalaureate fraternity of black professional men), member
  • Imani Christian Academy, Governing Board of Directors, member
  • Ashley Addiction Treatment (Havre de Grace, Maryland), Board Member
  • The Kiski School, Board of Trustees; The Kiski School Board of Visitors; Alumni Council, former member
  • Boy Scouts of America, Southwestern Pennsylvania Region, Board of Directors, former member
  • Pittsburgh Children’s Museum Board of Directors, former member

Teaching

  • Judge Lewis taught “Advocacy and Adjudication” as an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and is a former member of the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago School of Law.
  • Judge Lewis has served as a guest lecturer, moot court judge, and commencement speaker at various law schools, including the University of Pittsburgh, the Georgetown Law Center, Duquesne, Temple, and Harvard.
  • Judge Lewis has trained Department of Justice attorneys in mediation at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina, and served as an instructor in trial advocacy at the Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute.
  • Judge Lewis has served on the faculty of many continuing legal education programs, focusing upon appellate practice and procedure, mediation, arbitration, and employment discrimination.

Credentials

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court - Western District of Pennsylvania

Education

  • Tufts University, BA
  • Duquesne University School of Law, JD

A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.