Steven F. Fairlie

Steven F. Fairlie has been designated a Pennsylvania “SuperLawyer” in both Personal Injury and Criminal Defense by Philadelphia Magazine and placed on their lists of the Top 100 Lawyers in Pennsylvania and the Top 100 Lawyers in Philadelphia, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers, Top Rated Attorneys in Pennsylvania as published in The Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer, and the The Legal Intelligencer, The National Association of Distinguished Counsel, The National Advocacy for DUI Defense Top 100 Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Attorneys, and is a holder of Martindale-Hubbell’s prestigious “AV” rating and Platinum Client Champion Award, designating preeminent lawyers based upon legal ability, ethics, and client satisfaction. He has been rated a perfect 10.0/10.0 on AVVO.COM and is one of a just 35 attorneys in Pennsylvania to be named a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” by The Legal Intelligencer in 2006. He has been named a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (awarded to less than one-half percent of judges, lawyers, and scholars in America), received the National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys Top 10 Attorney Award, and been named a Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer by the American Society of Legal Advocates. He is one of just a handful of lawyers across the country to win the America’s Top 100 Awards for Lifetime Achievement, Criminal Defense, and High Stakes Litigators.  He has won many other awards for his trial work that are simply too numerous to list here.

In 2016 his book, Pennsylvania DUI Law, was published by LexisNexis. Also in 2016 he appeared on a television program “The American Law Journal” which won an Emmy award for its discussion of OJ, Cosby and “Making of a Murderer.”

He has successfully handled numerous civil (slip and fall, auto accidents, land development litigation, etc.) and criminal trials (narcotics, DUI, capital murder, robbery, rape, etc.).  Prior to private practice, he worked on the Narcotics Team and the Major Crimes Team of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office from 1996 to 2000. He successfully argued for the death penalty in 1999 and was lead prosecutor in a case involving $55 million of cocaine.  Subsequently, as a defense attorney, he took the appeal of a client sentenced to death and convinced the prosecutor to vacate the death sentence.  He used forensic tire print evidence to prove another client not guilty of attempted murder.  In yet another case he uncovered evidence which reduced the offer on a robbery case from 25–50 years down to 2 years probation.  He represented one individual charged with 3 separate charges of DUI and had the first case dismissed at the Preliminary Hearing, the second accepted into the A.R.D. program, and the third case dismissed after a trial judge granted suppression of all evidence in the case.  Mr. Fairlie has obtained not-guilty verdicts in major jury trials involving shootings, burglaries, etc. despite positive eyewitness identifications of his clients.  On appeal, he has successfully argued for reversal of a death sentence in one case and a sentence of 70 years in another case. Recent successful plea negotiations include 2 1/2 to 5 years in the case of a man who struck his wife in the head with a hammer and strangled her and 6 to 12 years in a First Degree Murder case. In another First Degree Murder case he negotiated a plea to Third Degree Murder and then obtained a sentence of 2-5 years at a contested sentencing hearing.  In 2017 he obtained return of $3,000,000.00 worth of allegedly stolen jewelry seized by law enforcement.  In 2018 he obtained a Not Guilty jury verdict in the “Bucks County Furry Rape” case.

In 2007, Mr. Fairlie went to trial on a case involving more than $50 million of land transactions and settled the case in the second week of trial. He has obtained six-figure settlements in numerous personal injury cases, including car accident, back injury, and dog bite cases.

Mr. Fairlie often serves as a speaker for various organizations such as the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Annual (since 2007) Criminal Law Symposium in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Montgomery and Bucks County Bar Associations, and various law enforcement training programs. He also teaches numerous other continuing legal education seminars for lawyers every year.

He earned his B.A. in Government and Law from Lafayette College in 1991 and his J.D. from The Dickinson School of Law in 1995 where he was a member of the Appellate Moot Court Board, the Environmental Law Journal, and a Chairman of the Student Bar Association. He has been Chairman of the Montgomery County Bar Association’s Criminal Defense Committee since 2001, a member of the Montgomery County Bar Association’s Judiciary Commitee and Trial Lawyers’ Section, a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Professionalism Committee and Civil Litigation Section, a member of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Hotline Panel of Experts Committee, a member of the Montgomery County Sexual Assault Task Force, a member of The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and an Associate Member of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Mr. Fairlie’s areas of practice include Criminal Defense, DUI Defense, and Personal Injury.

Mr. Fairlie enjoys scuba-diving, hunting, fishing and coaching youth sports.

Year Admitted to Practice in Pennsylvania:  1995

Areas of Practice:
50% Criminal Law
50% Personal Injury/Civil Litigation

Bar Admissions:
Pennsylvania, 1995
U.S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania, 1996
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2000
U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 2007
U.S. Supreme Court, 2002

The Dickinson School of Law, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1995
J.D.
Honors: Member, Appellate Moot Court Board
Honors: Member, Student Bar Association
Law Journal: The Dickinson School of Law Journal of Environmental Law & Policy, Member, 1994–1995

Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, 1991
A.B.
Honors: Dean’s List
Major:  Government & Law

University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Honors: With Distinction
Major:  International Government

First Attorney Ever Awarded the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Medal by District Attorney Bruce Caster, 2000
Pennsylvania “SuperLawyer”, published in Philadelphia Magazine
Top 100 Lawyers in Pennsylvania, published in Philadelphia Magazine
Top 100 Lawyers in Philadelphia, published in Philadelphia Magazine
Top Rated Attorneys in Philadelphia, published in the Wall Street Journal
Top 100 Trial Lawyers, by The National Trial Lawyers
Top 100 Lawyers, by the American Society of Legal Advocates
Pennsylvania’s “Rising Star”, published in Philadelphia Magazine, 2005–2007
“Lawyer on the Fast Track”, by the Legal Intelligencer, 2006

Pennsylvania Bar Association, 1995–Present
Member

Montgomery County Bar Association, 1996–Present
Member

Hatboro Rotary, 2000–2004
Member, Paul Harris Fellow

Montgomery County Criminal Defense Committee, 2000–Present
Chairman

Philadelphia Bar Association, 2000–Present
Associate Member

PA Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2001–Present
Member

PA Trial Lawyers Association, 2002–Present
Member

Pennsylvania Bar Association
Member, Professionalism Committee

Montgomery American Inn of Court
Member

Pennsylvania Bar Association, Civil Litigation Section
Member

Montgomery County Bar Association, Trial Lawyers’ Section
Member

Montgomery County Bar Association
Member, Bench-Bar Committee

Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Annual Criminal Law Symposium; Harrisburg
Search and Seizure for Police Officers, Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office
Criminal Law for the Family Lawyer, Montgomery Bar Association;
Criminal Consequences of Protection From Abuse Litigation, Montgomery Bar Association
Advanced Issues in Criminal Law, Montgomery Bar Association
Everything You Need to Know About the New DUI Law, Montgomery Bar Association
Mike Marino’s Killer Cross-Examination Techniques; Montgomery Bar Association
Recent Developments In Pennsylvania Sentencing, Montgomery Bar Association
Everything You Need to Know About the New Montgomery County Drug Court, Montgomery Bar Association
Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Law, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Harrisburg
How to Run a Criminal Law Practice, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Harrisburg
Should My Client Testify?, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Harrisburg

“The New Greenfields Legislation: A Practitioner’s Guide to Recycling Old Industrial Sites”, 5 Dick. J. Law Envt’l 77 Pol’y, 1996
Co-Author, Montgomery County Criminal Law Handbook.

You can access the Handbook online.

Pro Bono Activities:
Volunteer Attorney, The Innocence Project
Senior Adult Activity Center in Indian Valley, 2000
Coach, Mount Saint Joseph’s Academy Mock Trial Team (Montgomery County Champions), 2001–2004
Court-Appointed Murder Cases

Fraternities/Sororities:
Zeta Psi
Delta Theta Phi