Martin Black is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer and a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He joined the Law Center in 2026, where he focuses on voting rights, constitutional litigation, and protecting the rule of law.
In Leach v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, he persuaded the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional a state law that would have permitted firearms organizations to challenge local gun-safety ordinances on behalf of their members. He also represented Common Cause in the landmark League of Women Voters v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania litigation, helping develop a constitutional theory under Pennsylvania’s Free and Equal Elections Clause that led to the elimination of one of the nation’s most heavily criticized congressional gerrymanders. Mr. Black has further represented voters and advocacy organizations in multiple election-related cases challenging voter disenfranchisement and protecting access to the ballot.
Before joining the Law Center, Mr. Black was a partner at Dechert LLP, where he handled complex litigation and strategic matters for clients across a wide range of industries. He founded and chaired the firm’s Intellectual Property Group and served on its Policy Committee. He tried over 35 cases, handled numerous appeals, and successfully argued SCA Hygiene Products v. First Quality Baby Products before the United States Supreme Court, resulting in the Court overturning a century-old precedent in patent damages law. He has been recognized as a Band 1 litigator by Chambers and named to the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Best of the Bar and the Legal Intelligencer’s Distinguished Leader lists. He was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and of the International Association of Trial Lawyers.
Mr. Black is active in the community. He serves on the boards of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts and Pinemere Camp, where he is past-chair, and has served in leadership positions at Penn Hillel and the Jewish Federation of Philadelphia.
Mr. Black graduated with honors from the University of Chicago Law School and earned a B.S.E., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School as a Benjamin Franklin Scholar. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Edward N. Cahn of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
