Spencer H. Silverglate attorney photo

Spencer H.
Silverglate

President

Spencer's
Professional Experience

Spencer is President of Clarke Silverglate, P.A., a business litigation law firm that he co-founded in 1993 with Mercer K. “Bud” Clarke after practicing several years with an AmLaw 100 law firm. Their vision was to provide clients Big Law competency with small firm attention and efficiency. The vision proved successful, and it continues to permeate every aspect of the Firm.

Spencer has a national reputation for handling complex business, insurance, and employment disputes and for defending high-stakes personal injury and product liability claims and mass and class actions. His litigation and trial practice extends throughout the State of Florida and beyond. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is consistently selected by a variety of publications as one of the top attorneys in South Florida and the United States.  Who’s Who Legal has described Spencer as “an extremely  well regarded lawyer” who “is looked upon with enormous favor by peers for his exceptional work in high-value product liability proceedings.”

Spencer also is a member of the American Arbitration Association’s National Roster of Commercial and Employment Arbitrators. Spencer is a widely published author and frequent speaker on legal and non-legal topics. He is the author of the book Fight the Good Fight: A Battle Plan for Life.

Leadership and mentoring are among the core values of Clarke Silverglate. To that end, Spencer currently serves as Immediate Past President of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC). The IADC is the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests. Founded in 1920, the IADC has members who hail from six continents, 49 countries and territories, and all 50 U.S. states.  Spencer also has served as Director of the IADC’s prestigious Trial Academy held at Stanford University Law School, a “learn by doing” trial advocacy boot camp for attorneys (not law students) led by some of the top trial lawyers in the country.

Spencer previously served as President of Florida Association of Managing Partners (FAMP), President of the Florida Defense Lawyers Association (FDLA), Chair of the Defense Research Institute (DRI) Employment and Labor Law Committee, Chair of the DRI Jury Preservation Task Force, Chair of the IADC Trial Tactics Committee, Chair of A Place in Time Christian Ministries, and Chair of multiple CLE and convention committees for various organizations.  He is a prime member of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA), a legal organization which selects only one civil defense attorney per one million in population area.  Spencer currently serves on the Boards of DRI and LCJ (Lawyers for Civil Justice). Best Lawyers Guide has named Spencer the best management-side employer lawyer in South Florida.

Spencer volunteers as a “big brother” with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization and as a mentor to college students and young lawyers. He enjoys fitness, mountain biking, golf, and travel. He holds the rank of black belt in Atemi Ryu Jiu Jitsu. He lives in Weston, Florida with his wife, Kat, where together they raised their son Cameron, a recent graduate of Yale Law School and current law clerk on the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Education
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Education

  • J.D., University of Florida College of Law, 1988, Senior Editor, Florida Law Review, Fellowship Instructor, Legal Research and Writing
  • B.S. (Finance), University of Florida, with honors, 1985, Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society, Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity
Bar Admissions
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Bar Admissions

  •  Florida Bar, 1988 
Court Admissions
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Court Admissions

  • United States Supreme Court
  • Eleventh United States Circuit Court of Appeals
  • United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
  • United States District Court, Middle District of Florida
  • United States District Court, Northern District of Florida
  • United States District Court, Southern District of Texas
  • Florida Supreme Court
Leadership
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Leadership

  • President of the International Association of Defense Counsel (2021-2022)
  • Arbitrator – American Arbitration Association National Roster of Arbitrators
  • Trial Academy Director, 2015 IADC Trial Academy, Stanford University
  • Convention Chair, IADC CLE 2013 Midyear and Annual Meetings
  • Chair, DRI Jury Preservation Task Force, October 2011-2012
  • Chair, IADC CLE Subcommittee, 2012 Midyear Meeting
  • Chair, IADC Trial Tactics and Techniques Committee, July 2009-July 2011
  • Faculty, IADC Trial Academy Faculty, Stanford University July 2009
  • Faculty, IADC Satellite Trial Academy, Miami January 2008
  • President, Florida Defense Lawyers Association, 2004-2005
  • President, Florida Association of Managing Partners
  • Chair, DRI Employment and Labor Law Committee
  • Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA), Prime Member
  • Dade County Bar Association
  • Dade County Defense Bar Association
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Mentor, Big Brothers and Big Sisters
Recognitions
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Recognitions

  • Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation, Litigation-Labor & Employment, Employment Law Management (2020) 
  • Selected by Best Lawyers Guide as the best management-side employment lawyer in Miami, 2018
  • Who’s Who of Product Liability Defense Lawyers
  • The American Lawyer & Corporate Counsel Magazine “2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Labor & Employment”
  • The International Who’s Who of Product Liability Defense Lawyers
  • AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Selected by Best Lawyers Guide as one of “The Best Lawyers in America”
  • Selected by the South Florida Legal Guide as one of the Top Lawyers in South Florida
  • Selected by the South Florida Business Journal as among the Best of the Bar
  • Selected by Florida Trend magazine as among the Legal Elite
  • Black Belt, Atemi Ryu Ju Jitsu, 1994
Awards
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Awards

  • Joan Fullam Irick Award for Exceptional Leadership as Committee Chair for the IADC
  • Joseph P. Metzger Outstanding Achievement Award, Florida Defense Lawyers Association, 2006
  • President’s Award for Outstanding Member of the Florida Defense Lawyers Association, 2002
Publications
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Publications

Presentations
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Presentations

  • Non-Lawyer Ownership of Law Firms, Texas ABOTA Meeting (February (2022)
  • Non-Lawyer Ownership of Law Firms, DRI Annual Meeting (October 2022)
  • Practical Litigation Tips from the Pros, DRI Employment and Labor Law Seminar, Nashville, Tennessee (May 2017)
  • Practical Advice for Responding to Employee Complaints and Government Investigations: Keeping the Mole Hill from Becoming a Mountain, IADC Corporate Counsel College, Chicago, Illinois (April 2017)
  • Let’s Play Offense: Electronic Investigations and Discovery by Defendants, RIMS Conference, Naples, Florida (July 2012)
  • Minimizing Exposure in a Wired World, Association of Corporate Counsel of America’s South Florida In-house Counsel Conference (October 2011)
  • Practical Strategies for Dealing with Discrimination Claims, Association of Corporate Counsel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (September 2010)
  • Faculty, IADC Trial Academy Faculty, Stanford University (July 2009)
  • Daily Business Review Labor and Employment Law Roundtable, “Practical Strategies for Dealing with Retaliation Claims by the Plaintiff-Employee” (October 2008)
  • Trial Superstars Seminar, Opening Statements, Palm Beach County Bar Association (March 2008)
  • Don’t Get Mad, Get Even:  Practical Strategies for Dealing with Retaliation Claims by the Plaintiff-Employee, DRI Employment Law Seminar, Chicago, Illinois (May 2008)
  • Faculty, IADC Satellite Trial Academy, Miami, Florida (January 2008)
  • Appearance Discrimination, DRI Employment Law Seminar, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (2006)
  • Faculty, Florida Defense Lawyers Association Trial Seminar, Tampa, Florida (2004)
  • The Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability, the Tension Between Product Design and
  • Product Warning, Fifth Annual Liability Claims Conference, Orlando, Florida (2002)
  • 2001 A Tort Odyssey: The Florida Supreme Court Opens the Floodgates in a Trilogy of Personal Injury Decisions, Florida Defense Lawyers Association Winter Seminar, Park City, Utah (2002)
  • Faculty, Florida Defense Lawyers Association Trial Seminar, Jacksonville, Florida (2002)
Significant Reported Decisions
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Significant Reported Decisions

“Fight the good fight” is my personal motto and the title of a book I wrote about facing life’s hardships through the lens of faith. We all experience challenges; the question is how we respond to them. Will we shrink from the battle or engage it? And how will we fight? A good fight combines purpose, wisdom and courage: fighting for a worthy cause; fighting skillfully and within the rules; fighting hard to the end. These words resonate with attorneys who litigate for a living. May all of our fights be good fights.

Spencer H. Silverglate

Get to Know
Spencer Silverglate

Spencer is dedicated to his faith, his family, his friends and his law firm. He enjoys all things leadership, especially serving, teaching, mentoring, and learning. He is also a fanatic about fitness and recreation, particularly weight training, cycling, swimming, running, golfing, boating, scuba diving, hiking, and travel.

A few things he likes

Faith

Family

Leadership

Fitness

clarke silverglate, p.a.

5301 Blue Lagoon Drive, 9th Floor
Miami, Florida 33126

305-377-0700

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