Super Lawyers - Pennsylvania 2011

That summer, Specter shadowed Beasley
in almost everything he did, “soaking up
like a sponge,” he says, all that he observed,
particularly during a seven-week trial.

He watched the way Beasley prepared for a case, painstakingly gathering every fact, anticipating every variable. He watched how Beasley questioned witnesses in court, and how he was always prepared with incisive follow-up questions. He watched how Beasley remained relaxed at all times, how he “rolled with the punches” and knew when to push and when to pull. And he watched how Beasley crafted his closing arguments like an epic story, connecting to the jury with just the right tone, pitch and pace.

The next fall, Specter returned to Penn
absolutely certain about what type of law
he wanted to practice.

“I loved everything about it,” says
Specter. “I loved that Jim Beasley
represented individual clients and could
achieve real results for their lives. And I
loved the idea of being able to advocate for
those same types of people one day.”
It didn’t take long for him to get the
chance. Specter went to work for Beasley
full time in 1984, seven weeks before he
was admitted to the bar. The following
month, he was immediately assigned to
represent a woman whose esophagus had
been perforated by a tube that a doctor had
placed down her throat. The case, recalls
Specter, was a disaster.

Specter knew so little about how to try
a case that he wasn’t even aware that in
Philadelphia County the presentation order
is plaintiff, defendant, then plaintiff again. So
when the defense lawyer finished his speech
and the judge asked Specter for his rebuttal,
the young lawyer shuffled nervously in his
chair and simply said, “Your honor, I think
everything’s been said that needs to be said.”
“That was monumentally incompetent
on my part,” recalls Specter with a chuckle.
“I was dumbstruck. If I had known I
had a chance to rebut the defendant, I
would have been taking notes to know
what to say. That was probably the most
embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to
me in the courtroom.”
To keep himself humble, Specter
has his original, handwritten closing
argument from that case framed and
hanging in his office.

MASTER WEINSTEIN
SCHATZ MOYER, P.C.

Steven J. Schatz and Christopher T. Moyer are seasoned
trial lawyers committed to obtain fair and just results
for their clients who have been injured by the conduct
of other people and business entities throughout
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Their commitment,
along with that of their partners and the associates
in their firm, has allowed Master Weinstein to enjoy a
reputation as a well-respected law firm since 1994.

2010 & 2011 Pennsylvania
Rising Stars honoree

Steven Schatz is a partner/shareholder at the
Philadelphia law firm Master Weinstein Schatz Moyer,
P.C. Schatz’s practice is devoted to civil litigation with
a special emphasis on personal injury, residential
construction litigation and workers’ compensation.

He is a member of the Pennsylvania Association for
Justice, the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and
the Philadelphia Bar Association. Schatz graduated
from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor’s of Arts
in 1995 and received his J.D. from Widener University
School of Law in 1999, where he graduated cum laude.
He was admitted to the bars of Pennsylvania and New
Jersey in 1999. He is also admitted to practice in the
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania and
U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey.

2011 Pennsylvania
Super Lawyers® honoree

In an addition to being named in Pennsylvania Super
Lawyers, Christopher Moyer is also a member of the
Million Dollar Advocates Forum, having successfully
resolved numerous cases in excess of $1 million. For
the past 17 years Christopher has handled all types of
cases that take him into the courtroom; the large majority
of which include wrongful death, medical malpractice,
products liability and general negligence cases. Moyer
is a member of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice,
the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, and the
Philadelphia Bar Association and is admitted to practice
in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.