Howard Scher of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.

Howard Scher, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney

Scher began his career after a very short stint in the Defenders' Association at the City Solicitor's Office in Philadelphia heading the appeals and special litigation. Within those two years, he had helped try and win a civil rights challenge to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, lost on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and had it reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Other career highlights include, serving as the head of Jewish Law Day; a witness in the impeachment trial of Justice Rolf Larson; and having obtained numerous successful trial verdicts, including a $55 million jury verdict that included $25 million punitive damages in a commercial dispute, which was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and resulted in complete satisfaction.

The legal profession is constantly evolving and that evolution only seems to have accelerated in recent years. What's the biggest change you've seen in the profession during your career? The legal profession is a "lagging" indicator of our society.  It never reflects our current culture. It always reflects the past. That's because, at its core the profession strives to predict what the law is based on what it has been. The law is conservative. It relies on stare decisis from our common law tradition.