HARRISBURG (May 6, 2019) — The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee will present its Sir Francis Bacon Alternative Dispute Resolution Award to Harrie R. Samaras, ADR Office of Harrie R. Samaras, West Chester, during an awards luncheon on May 16 at the association’s Annual Meeting in Lancaster.
The Sir Francis Bacon Award recognizes an individual who has made a significant impact in bringing mediation and other forms of dispute resolution to Pennsylvania. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was a Renaissance writer who served British monarchs in a legal capacity as knight, attorney general and solicitor. He authored the essay, “Of Negotiating,” which featured the frequently-quoted line, “It is generally better to deal by speech than by letter, and by the mediation of a third than by a man’s self.”
A Harvard trained mediator who has received certification from the International Mediation Institute, Samaras’ dispute resolution practice focuses on the arbitration and mediation of domestic and international commercial disputes, including intellectual property, business/technology and related issues. Her training in domestic and international arbitration includes programs administered by the American Arbitration Association, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the International Chamber of Commerce.
An avid speaker and lecturer, Samaras has presented and moderated continuing legal education programs on a variety of alternative dispute resolution and litigation topics for professional associations around the country, including the American Bar Association (ABA), American Intellectual Property Law Association, Intellectual Property Owner’s Association and Federal Circuit Bar Association. She has also taught courses for law students, business students, attorneys and business professionals and has served as a trainer for new mediators.
Samaras has authored and edited ADR Advocacy, Strategies, and Practices for Intellectual Property and Technology Cases, Second Edition published by the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law, as well as numerous articles on alternative dispute resolution and litigation topics.
Prior to focusing solely on alternative dispute resolution, Samaras worked as an attorney in the corporate and private sectors, for the U.S. government as a staff attorney and law clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and as a Patent Examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the biomedical arts. She has served as director of intellectual property litigation for a former Fortune 100 telecommunications company and as vice president intellectual property, legal for a business unit of a multinational pharmaceutical/drug delivery company. In both positions, she was responsible for prosecuting and defending actions worldwide involving intellectual property assets in courts and administrative tribunals, performing early case assessment, negotiating a variety of commercial contracts and serving as an advocate in ADR proceedings.
Samaras has held leadership roles in numerous organizations, including chair, vice chair and budget officer of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section and co-chair of the section’s Intellectual Property Committee, chair and vice chair of the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law Division VI Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Related Issues committees, board member of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, chair and vice chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and past chair and vice chair of the Federal Circuit Bar Association Dispute Resolution Committee. She is also a member of the PBA and International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution and is a former trustee and treasurer of International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution.
Samaras obtained a master of laws in Patent and Trade Regulation Law from The George Washington University National Law Center, and she earned a juris doctorate from the University of Baltimore School of Law. She holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Maryland in the life sciences.
Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access of legal services; and serve the lawyer members of the state’s largest organized bar association.