Shawn F. Summers, Esq.
Shawn F. Summers is an associate in Ballard Spahr’s Philadelphia office and a member of its Litigation Department. His practice is focused on commercial litigation, media and First Amendment law, government and internal investigations, and regulatory compliance.
Shawn first came to Ballard Spahr as a summer associate. Before law school, Shawn worked as a software quality analyst, supporting and advising clients in the insurance, banking, and retail industries. Shawn also worked as a staff member at a Pennsylvania craft distillery.
Shawn maintains an extensive pro bono practice divided between impact litigation and representation of individual clients. He successfully represented a medically vulnerable federal prisoner seeking compassionate release during the COVID-19 pandemic, securing the client’s release and sentence reduction to time served over prosecutorial opposition.
Shawn also represented the Philadelphia Bail Fund in a First Amendment challenge to Philadelphia’s policy of conducting bail hearings off the record, and helped a group of civic leaders and organizations in New York sue the federal government over its failure to produce certain public health reporting before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shawn has also represented clients seeking asylum in the United States after fleeing persecution in their home countries.