The Honorable D. Michael Fisher, University of Pittsburgh School of Law Distinguished Jurist Fellow and Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, has been selected to receive a Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) President’s Award. The President’s Award recognizes extraordinary commitment to the PBA and Judge Fisher will be honored for his work as Chair of the Federal Practice Committee.
Judge Fisher is a Senior Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in December 2003. Prior to becoming a judge, he served as Attorney General of Pennsylvania having been elected in 1996 and re-elected in 2000. Judge Fisher personally argued major cases in state and federal appellate courts and in March 1998, he successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court a precedent-setting case ensuring that paroled criminals meet the conditions of their release. Before his election as Attorney General, Judge Fisher was in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, serving six years in the State House and 16 years as a member of the State Senate. He began his legal career as an Assistant DA in his hometown of Pittsburgh following his graduation from Georgetown University and its Law Center. He continued to practice law during his career in the General Assembly and was a shareholder or partner in various firms, including Houston Harbaugh, where he practiced from 1984 to 1997. Judge Fisher is a member of the Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction of the U.S. Judicial Conference and will began a 3 year term as its Chair in 2019. Judge Fisher currently chairs the PBA’s Federal Practice Committee, the Third Circuit Attorney Disciplinary Committee, and serves as the Distinguished Jurist in Residence at Pitt Law teaching Federal Courts and Federal Appellate Advocacy.
Judge Fisher will be recognized at the PBA Virtual Awards Luncheon on Thursday, May 20, 2021.