About Michael D.
Michael D. Shaffer is a Temple-educated lawyer who finished his Juris Doctor at Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1990 after earning a Bachelor of Arts from Temple University in 1987. He arrived at the bar of public service and courtroom practice at a time when litigation was changing fast. The years since his graduation have given him steady exposure to trial and appellate work in Pennsylvania and in federal courts.
Shaffer is a partner at Shaffer & Gaier. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and has secured admission to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He is also admitted to the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and for New Jersey, and he regularly appears in those forums. His professional path has been anchored in litigation and courtroom practice rather than transactional work.
Colleagues describe him as practical in court and prepared at trial. He has spent much of his career handling contested matters that require written advocacy, oral argument and courtroom strategy. That work often moves between state trial courts and federal courts. He also handles appeals that advance important questions from the trial record to higher courts.
Outside of case work, Shaffer maintains memberships in several professional organizations. He is an active member of the Temple American Inn of Court. He belongs to the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Nationally, he holds membership in the American Bar Association. He has also kept ties to litigation-focused groups through the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. Those memberships reflect an ongoing engagement with trial practice and professional development.
At the firm level, Shaffer shares leadership responsibilities at Shaffer & Gaier. Partners there coordinate litigation strategies, supervise preparation for trial, and mentor junior attorneys. In day-to-day practice he focuses on drafting pleadings, preparing witnesses for testimony and arguing motions. He balances those tasks with appellate briefing when cases require it.
He maintains an office at 8 Penn Center. He continues to handle matters in state and federal courts in the region and in the Third Circuit. His current practice focuses on civil litigation and trial work.
