Segal Dies; Father of Noted Law School Lecture Series
By Hon. Arlin Adams

Irving R. “Bud” Segal C’35 L'38

Irving R. “Bud” Segal, a renowned litigator who was revered in the Philadelphia legal community, died last November. He was 88.

Born in Allentown, Mr. Segal grew up in Philadelphia. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania before going on to earn his law degree at the school. Mr. Segal began his career as a lawyer in 1938 by passing up an opportunity to clerk for a Justice of the United States Supreme Court, instead opting for a clerkship with Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Thomas Finletter.

In 1939, he joined Schnader & Lewis, which later became Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis. Arlin Adams L’47, former judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals Third Circuit, observed a quicksilver mind and a perfectionist when he worked with Segal at the firm on-and-off for nearly twenty years. “He was a taskmaster,” Adams said. “He demanded excellence.”

Segal specialized in labor law and litigation. He handled trials of complex cases for major businesses including AT&T, The Bell Telephone Company, RCA and NBC. Early in his career he became an expert in public utility law, representing the Yellow Cab Company. But he also represented businesses seeking to compete against regulated carriers. In that regard, his work for United Parcel Service (UPS) was his crowning achievement. In more than fifty trials and appeals over 35 years Mr. Segal enabled UPS to grow from a department store delivery service to a national common carrier.

Segal, a captain in the Judge Advocate Branch of the U.S. Army during World War II, was a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers for more than 30 years and was a Regent and Secretary of that organization. He served on the ABA’s Standing Committee on Judicial Selection, Tenure and Compensation, Standing Committee on Improvements to the Federal Judiciary and its Commission on Correctional Facilities and Services. He had recently received the 50-Year Award from the American Bar Foundation. Segal also was chairman of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s State Civil Judicial Procedures Committee and Senior Lawyers Committee.