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The Axelrod Firm, PC

MBE WBE

  • WBE

Firm Size

  • 6-10

Willing to Act as Local Counsel

  • Yes

The Axelrod Firm is a five-attorney certified woman-owned law firm of litigators based in Philadelphia and Washington, DC. We advise and represent national and multinational companies in their employment, commercial and products liability matters in industries such as aviation, insurance and manufacturing. We provide advice and training to our clients as we team with them to help them manage their risks, and we help parties resolve their disputes through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). 

The partners in the Firm, Sheryl L. Axelrod and Lisa J. Savitt, both came from Blank Rome LLP, one of the 100 largest law firms in the country.  The firm attorneys in our Philadelphia office (Sheryl Axelrod, Arielle Gold, Kevinn Souffant and Jamie Augustinsky) are licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and Ms. Axelrod and Ms. Augustinsky are also licensed to practice law in New Jersey.  Ms. Savitt is licensed to practice in Washington, DC, New York, and Pennsylvania, and is Qualified as a Solicitor in England and Wales (although she does not currently practice as a Solicitor in England or Wales.)  Ms. Savitt handles domestic and international litigation.

  • Sheryl L. Axelrod

Ms. Axelrod, who is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, handles in those states employment, products liability, and commercial litigation matters, and serves as a Judge Pro Tempore / Settlement Master.  She is so well recognized for her commercial litigation skills, that she is among the less than 130 lawyers in Pennsylvania who have been appointed by the judges of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Commerce Court to serve as a Judge Pro Tempore / Settlement Master in commercial litigation cases. 

Ms. Axelrod’s broad-based litigation skills are such that she has been accepted into membership in Litigation Counsel of America, a peer selected honorary society of top trial lawyers. Vigorously vetted for skills, expertise, and service, less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers are accepted into membership in LCA’s by-invitation-only membership.  Her David versus Goliath complete trial victory on behalf of her client-Defendant, Carmelo Gaudite, in the matter styled Visiting Nurse Group, Inc. vs. Gaudite, PCCP Docket No. 110601804 (Hon. Albert W. Sheppard, Jr., Jul. 15, 2009), was published in “Pennsylvania Jury Verdict Review and Analysis,” which covers the most significant verdicts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

She is also among the few women lawyers to have been recognized by her fellow attorneys as one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Pennsylvania.

Ms. Axelrod has won many cases on her written submissions without having to go to trial. Her writing is so strong, two of her briefs have been published.  The Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania’s primary intermediate appellate court, chose her to appear on television to explain Pennsylvania appellate practice to the public prior to televised oral arguments.  Two of her briefs in federal court cases have been published, including a brief she filed in the Supreme Court of the United States.  She also presented the Continuing Legal Education course, “Successfully Navigating the Appeals Process,” with former Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Justice Sandra Schultz Newman.

Her employment defense work is so distinguished, that she has been selected a Top Rated Lawyer in Labor & Employment by American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell™. 

Ms. Axelrod received her Bachelor’s degree Cum Laude in Economics from Brandeis University in 1990.  She received her law degree from Temple University in 1993 after having won the 1992 Samuel J. Polsky Moot Court Competition. Upon graduation from Temple Law School, she clerked for the distinguished and award-winning jurist, The Honorable (now retired) Sandra Mazer Moss, before practicing law at Blank Rome.

Ms. Axelrod is a past President of the Temple Law Alumni Association (TLAA), the fourth female to hold the post in the organization’s nearly one hundred-year history. She is a member of the Forum of Executive Women, an organization of the most influential women in the Philadelphia region.  She has been appointed by two separate Chancellors of the Philadelphia Bar Association to membership on the Investigative Division of the Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention.  On the Investigative Division, Ms. Axelrod has led numerous teams vetting the individuals seeking to be elected judges in Pennsylvania.  She has been profiled in Profiles in Diversity Journal; by the American Bar Association, which published a “Spotlight” piece about her; by Ms. JD in its “A Firm of Her Own” series; and by Law360, which featured her in its “Female Powerbrokers” series.

  • Lisa J. Savitt

The Axelrod Firm Partner, Lisa Savitt, handles international and domestic litigation and alternative dispute resolution, representing foreign and domestic companies in matters involving complex legal, regulatory, and technical issues.

Ms. Savitt is a frequent speaker and writer. She is a former Chair of the over 20,000 members of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of International Law.  Ms. Savitt is a member of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative Board and is a member of the ABA Tort Insurance Practice Section. 

Ms. Savitt clerked for Magistrate Shira Scheindlin at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She received her J.D. from New York Law School and her Bachelor of Arts in East Asian studies from George Washington University.

Prior to joining The Axelrod Firm as a partner, Ms. Savitt worked at not only Blank Rome, but another global law firm, Crowell & Moring.

Contact

Philadelphia, PA

1125 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

saxelrod@theaxelrodfirm.com

215-461-1768 (direct dial)

267-918-4526 (cell)

Person of contact: Sheryl L. Axelrod

Washington, DC

5028 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Suite 100, Washington, DC 20016

lsavitt@theaxelrodfirm.com

202-765-2727 (phone)

Person of contact: Lisa J. Savitt

Practice Areas

  • ADR/Arbitration
  • Aviation
  • Construction
    • Construction Contracts
    • Consulting Agreements
    • Litigation
  • Defamation
  • Insurance
    • Litigation
    • Product Liability
    • Professional Liability/E&O/D&O
    • Property/Premises/Homeowners
  • International Litigation
  • Labor & Employment
    • Arbitration
    • Drafting Employee Handbooks / Policies / Documents
    • Leave and Pay Acts (e.g. FLSA / FMLA / Service Contracts Act / Davis Bacon Act / Walsh-Healey)
    • Litigation
  • Litigation/Trials
    • Administrative
    • Construction
    • Consumer and Product Liability Litigation
    • Employment (HR, Discrimination, ERISA, Labor, Workers Comp, etc.)
    • Insurance
    • International Law
    • Personal Injury (Torts, Premises Liability, Toxic Torts)
    • Professional Liability

Firm Bio

  • BRIEF FIRM INTRODUCTION

The Axelrod Firm is a five-attorney certified woman-owned law firm of litigators based in Philadelphia and Washington, DC. We advise and represent national and multinational companies in their employment, general and product liability, appellate, commercial, and international litigation matters, and we help parties resolve their disputes through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). 

The partners in the Firm, Sheryl L. Axelrod and Lisa J. Savitt, both came from Blank Rome LLP, one of the 100 largest law firms in the country.  The firm attorneys in our Philadelphia office (Sheryl Axelrod, Arielle Gold, and Kevinn Souffant) are licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and Ms. Axelrod is also licensed to practice law in New Jersey.  Ms. Savitt is licensed to practice in Washington, DC, New York, and Pennsylvania, and is Qualified as a Solicitor in England and Wales (although she does not currently practice as a Solicitor in England or Wales.)  Ms. Savitt handles domestic and international litigation.

  • Sheryl L. Axelrod

Ms. Axelrod, who is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, handles in those states employment, general and product liability, appellate, and commercial litigation matters, and serves as a Judge Pro Tempore / Settlement Master.  Her employment defense work is so distinguished, she has been selected a Top Rated Lawyer in Labor & Employment by American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell™. 

Ms. Axelrod’s broad-based litigation skills are such that she has been accepted into membership in Litigation Counsel of America, a peer selected honorary society of top trial lawyers. Vigorously vetted for skills, expertise, and service, less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers are accepted into membership in LCA’s by-invitation-only membership.  Her David versus Goliath complete trial victory on behalf of her client-Defendant, Carmelo Gaudite, in the matter styled Visiting Nurse Group, Inc. vs. Gaudite, PCCP Docket No. 110601804 (Hon. Albert W. Sheppard, Jr., Jul. 15, 2009), was published in “Pennsylvania Jury Verdict Review and Analysis,” which covers the most significant verdicts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

She is also among the few women lawyers to have been recognized by her fellow attorneys as one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Pennsylvania. Judges have recognized her work as well.  Ms. Axelrod is among the less than 125 lawyers in Pennsylvania who have been appointed by the judges of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Commerce Court to serve as a Judge Pro Tempore / Settlement Master in commercial litigation matters. 

Ms. Axelrod has won many cases on her written submissions without having to go to trial. Her writing is so strong, two of her briefs have been published.  The Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania’s primary intermediate appellate court, chose her to appear on television to explain Pennsylvania appellate practice to the public prior to televised oral arguments.  Two of her briefs in federal court cases have been published, including a brief she filed in the Supreme Court of the United States.  She also presented the Continuing Legal Education course, “Successfully Navigating the Appeals Process,” with former Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Justice Sandra Schultz Newman.

Ms. Axelrod received her Bachelor’s degree Cum Laude in Economics from Brandeis University in 1990.  She received her law degree from Temple University in 1993 after having won the 1992 Samuel J. Polsky Moot Court Competition. Upon graduation from Temple Law School, she clerked for the distinguished and award-winning jurist, The Honorable (now retired) Sandra Mazer Moss, before practicing law at Blank Rome.

Ms. Axelrod is a past President of the Temple Law Alumni Association (TLAA), the fourth female to hold the post in the organization’s nearly one hundred-year history. She is a member of the Forum of Executive Women, an organization of the most influential women in the Philadelphia region.  She has been appointed by two separate Chancellors of the Philadelphia Bar Association to membership on the Investigative Division of the Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention.  On the Investigative Division, Ms. Axelrod has led numerous teams vetting the individuals seeking to be elected judges in Pennsylvania.  She has been profiled in Profiles in Diversity Journal; by the American Bar Association, which published a “Spotlight” piece about her; by Ms. JD in its “A Firm of Her Own” series; and by Law360, which featured her in its “Female Powerbrokers” series.

  • Lisa J. Savitt

Axelrod Firm Partner, Lisa Savitt, handles international and domestic litigation and alternative dispute resolution, representing foreign and domestic companies in matters involving complex legal, regulatory, and technical issues.

Ms. Savitt is a frequent speaker and writer. She is a former Chair of the over 20,000 members of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of International Law. Currently, Ms. Savitt serves as the ABA Section of International Law liaison to the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. Ms. Savitt is also a member of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative Middle East and North Africa Council and the ABA Tort Insurance Practice Section. 

Ms. Savitt clerked for Magistrate Shira Scheindlin of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She received her J.D. from New York Law School and her Bachelor of Arts in East Asian studies from George Washington University.

Prior to joining The Axelrod Firm as a partner, Ms. Savitt worked at not only Blank Rome, but another global law firm, Crowell & Moring.

  • THE AXELROD FIRM’S COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

The Axelrod Firm is committed to diversity. Every attorney in the Firm is a woman and our paralegal is an African American.  Not only that, but every employee including the Firm Office Manager, was hired in part due to their commitment to diversity. 

Firm President & CEO, Sheryl Axelrod, is a nationally published author and frequent public speaker on unconscious bias and the profitability of diversity. She founded a non-profit, The Fearless Women Network, to shatter glass ceilings and obliterate unequal pay. 

For her lifetime of work in the equality, diversity, and inclusion space, Ms. Axelrod was the awarded the 2017 National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms’ (NAMWOLF) Yolanda Coly Advocacy Award. She was among the six attorneys in the country shortlisted for gender diversity work by Chambers Diversity Awards USA 2016.  In 2015, she was honored with the TLAA Women’s Champion Award and in 2009, she was recognized with the TLAA Distinguished Service Award.  During her two-year term as President of TLAA (from 2012 to 2014), Ms. Axelrod founded the TLAA Women’s Initiative and the TLAA Diversity Committee and their annual awards. 

The amount of Ms. Axelrod’s work in the equality, diversity, and inclusion space is so expansive, it spans pages and tabs on the Firm’s website. See: http://theaxelrodfirm.com/diversity/firm-president-sheryl-axelrods-advocacy-work/, http://theaxelrodfirm.com/diversity/, http://theaxelrodfirm.com/diversity/personal-note/, http://theaxelrodfirm.com/diversity/with-kids/, http://theaxelrodfirm.com/diversity/among-lawyers/, http://theaxelrodfirm.com/diversity/tlaa-initiatives/.  The Axelrod Firm even boasts on its website its Diversity Miniguide, providing tools everyone can use to become a diversity champion.  See: http://theaxelrodfirm.com/diversityminiguide/

Firm Partner Lisa Savitt is a founding member and former President of the International Aviation Women’s Association. Ms. Savitt was awarded the coveted ABA Section of International Law’s Mayre Rasmussen Award for the Advancement of Women in International Law. This honorary lifetime achievement award recognizes lawyers who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing opportunities for women in international law throughout their career.

Ms. Axelrod and Ms. Savitt worked together, upon receiving appointments from the President of the American Bar Association (ABA) on the ABA’s distinguished Task Force on Gender Equity. 

Ms. Axelrod and Ms. Savitt currently serve on DirectWomen, the only national organization dedicated to advancing women lawyers onto major corporate boards.

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