Bernard Segal

Who was Bernard Segal?

Bernard G. Segal was an American lawyer known for his advocacy of the poor and his work in the civil rights movement.

Segal was born in New York but spent his childhood in Allentown and Philadelphia. He received both his bachelor's and law degrees at the University of Pennsylvania. Upon his graduation from law school, Segal became a deputy attorney general in the office of William A. Schnader, the Attorney General of Pennsylvania.

At 24, Segal was the youngest deputy attorney general in state history. When Schnader lost a race for governor and established his own firm in 1935, Segal quickly became a partner, eventually serving as chairman of the firm, now known as Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis.

In the 1950s, Segal became the first Jewish lawyer elected chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, the nation's oldest bar association. In 1969, he became president of the American Bar Association. In fifty years as a corporate lawyer specializing in appellate work, Segal represented blue-chip clients including Bell Telephone, RCA, NBC, Hertz Corporation, Gimbel Brothers, and also United Parcel Service, where he served for many years as director and general counsel.