Mike Silver, Esquire
Mike Silver is a 1972 honors graduate of Temple University and 1975 graduate of Rutgers Law School who has been practicing disability and negligence law for over 30 years. He served a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Michael Patrick King, an Appellate Division Judge in the Superior Court of New Jersey. Following his association with a labor and negligence law firm in South Jersey, Mr. Silver and his wife founded Silver & Silver in 1981.
After serving as the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives (NOSSCR) Regional Representative for the Third Circuit, as well as National Secretary and Treasurer, in 1990 Mike was elected President of the 4300 member group. In addition to lecturing on disability law to the medical, legal, and insurance communities, Mike has testified before the House of Representatives' Social Security Subcommittee, advocating for ways to make the disability system more equitable. Mr. Silver founded and chaired the Philadelphia Bar Association's Disability Law Committee from its inception in 1995 through 2004.
After volunteering for the Arthritis Foundation and serving as its first Advocacy Chair, Mr. Silver was elected Chairman of the Arthritis Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania's Board of Directors and served from 2002 - 2005. He currently serves as its Advocacy Chair, and Chair of the Jingle Bell Run. Mr. Silver is the immediate Past Chair of the Ardmore Initiative, a Business District Authority. He was selected as Main Line Today Magazine's Person of the Year (2004) and has served as President of the Ardmore Rotary Club. Mr. Silver was recognized by Philadelphia Magazine as the only Super Lawyer in the disability field for 2005 – 2010.
Education
J.D., Rutgers School of Law, 1975
Recipient - American Jurisprudence Award, Academic Excellence in Family Law, 1975
B.A., Temple University, 1972
Cum Laude
Judicial Clerkship
The Honorable Michael Patrick King
Superior Court of New Jersey
Appellate Division, 1975-76
Work Experience
1981 - present, Senior Partner, Silver & Silver
1976-1980 - Associate, Tomar, Parks, Seliger, Simonoff and Adourian, Haddonfield, NJ
Areas of Practice
Social Security Disability, Long Term Disability and Negligence Law
Memberships
National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives:
Council of Past Presidents 1991- Present
President 1990-91
Secretary 1989-90
Treasurer, 1988-89
Region Three Representative, 1987 - 1990
Pennsylvania Bar Association, 1976 - present
Philadelphia Bar Association:
Social Security Disability Committee, Chairman, 1995 - 2005
Medical/Legal Committee, 1987 - 1990
Montgomery County Bar Association
Co-Chair Speakers Committee 1996-1997
Ardmore Rotary, 1998- present
Ardmore Business Association, 1995 - present
Main Line Chamber of Commerce, 1996 - present
Golden Slipper Club & Charities, 1983 - present Program Chair, 1994-95
Board of Directors
Ardmore 2000/Ardmore Initiative 1994 - Present
Arthritis Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania 1999-present;
Board Chair, 2002-2005
Advocacy Chair, Eastern Pennsylvania 2006 - present
Rotary Club of Ardmore 2001 - present
National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives, 1987-1993
Solomon Schechter Day School, 1988-1989
Post-Graduate Programs
Barrister, Temple American Inns of the Courts, 1992 - 94
Fellow, Academy of Trial Advocacy, 1988
Leadership Inc. – Class of 2001
Community Activities
Board Chair, Ardmore Initiative, 2007 – 2009
President, Rotary Club of Ardmore, 2006-2007
Chairman, Ardmore Streetscape and Improvement Committee, 1994 - 2007
Board Vice-Chair, Ardmore 2000, 1994 – 2007
Counsel - Cambodian Relief Association, 1984-86
Task Force Member – ALEC Program (A Lawyer for Every Child), 1998- 2000
Volunteers for the Indigent Program (VIP), 1995 - 2000
Recipient
Arthritis Foundation of Eastern PA - Ambassador for Arthritis Award - 2009
Main Line Times Readers' Choice Award - Best Attorney - 2008
Wall of Fame - Northeast High School - 2007
Main Line Life - Best Law Firm - 2007
Arthritis Foundation National Volunteer Service Citation - 2006
Philadelphia Magazine Pennsylvania Super Lawyer 2004 - present
Main Line Magazine First Person of The Year - 2004
Main Line Times Readers' Choice Award - Best Law Firm, 2001, 2003, 2005 - 2008
National Historic Certification, Bell Telephone Employment Office for Women, 1998
Main Line Chamber of Commerce, Small Business of the Year Finalist 1998, 1999
Main Line Chamber of Commerce, Small Business of the Year Award 2000
Main Line Chamber of Commerce, 1995 Property Improvement Award
Historical Preservation Award, Lower Merion Township, 1995
American Cambodian Relief Association Friendship Award, 1984
Partial List of Public Speaking Engagements
| 11/10 | Jewish Family Service - Eligibility for SSI Benefits |
| 07/10 | Main Line Chamber of Commerce - "Fundraising: How to Cultivate The High Dollar Donor Through Interesting Fundraising Ideas" |
| 1/05 | Lankenau Hospital - Wynnewood, PA - "How Social Workers Can Assist Disabled Patients" |
| 11/04 | NOSSCR Conference - Philadelphia, PA - Disability Based Upon Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis |
| 11/04 | Friends Hospital - Philadelphia, PA - Proving Psychiatric Disabilities |
| 11/02 | Interstitial Cystitis Support Group - Bethlehem, PA - Proving Disability |
| 6/02 | Roxborough Memorial Hospital - Arthritis Program "Know Your Rights: Get the Facts on Disability Issues, Community Resources and More" |
| 3/02 | Arthritis Foundation - Action Plan Summit, Philadelphia, Pa |
| 3/02 | Arthritis Foundation - Advocacy Summit, Washington, D.C. |
| 11/01 | Arthritis Foundation - Joints in Motion "Legal Rights of the Disabled" Philadelphia, PA |
| 10/01 | Philaposh/Northeast Philadelphia Chapter "Disability and the Injured Worker" |
| 10/00 | Arthritis Foundation Symposium Presenter "Arthritis in the Prime of Life" Fibromyalgia Support Group - Paoli, PA |
| 5/99 | PAMPA Legal Seminar "Introduction to Social Security Law" |
| 4/99 | NOSSCR Conference - Washington, DC - Legislative Efforts in Reducing Costs of Medical Records in Disability Claims |
| 3/99 | Fibromyalgia Support Group - Allentown, PA |
| 3/99 | WWDB Guest on Radio Talk Show "Legal Perspective" |
| 9/98 | THROSSCR Seminar - House Bill Capping Costs for Medical Records |
| 4/98 | NOSSCR Conference - San Diego |
| 3/98 | Norristown Cancer Support Group |
| 2/98 | Friends Hospital Continuing Medical Education Seminar "Disability Law for the Medical Community" |
| 10/97 | Chronic Fatigue Support Group of Pottstown, PA |
| 10/97 | NOSSCR* Mid-Year Conference Seminar - Chicago, IL |
| 9/97 | Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association - Course Planner for Seminar "Medicine & Social Security: Proving the Disability Case" |
| 6/97 | Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Association - Bethlehem, PA |
| 4/97 | Self Help for the Hard of Hearing - Pennsylvania State Convention "Getting Social Security Disability Benefits" |
| 12/96 | Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association "Social Security Disability and the Effect on the Third Party Claim- Survival Between Accident and Recovery" |
| 10/96 | Paoli Hospital - Fibromyalgia Support Group |
| 1/96 | Philadelphia Bar Association - Workers' Compensation Section "Social Security Disability and Workers' Compensation Benefits" |
| 5/95 | Doylestown Hospital - Fibromyalgia Support Group |
| 4/95 | Graduate Hospital - Interstitial Cystitis Support Group |
| 12/94 | Roxborough Hospital - Physicians' Group "Social Security Disability and the Disabled Patient: An Overview and Guide for the Treating Physician" |
| 10/93 | Graduate Hospital - Hard of Hearing Support Group "Disability for the Hearing Impaired" |
| 10/93 | NOSSCR* Mid-Year Conference, Orlando, FL "Developing the Disability Practice" |
| 6/92 | NOSSCR Mid-Year Conference, Washington, DC "Introduction to Disability Law" |
| 6/91 | NOSSCR Mid-Year Conference, Washington, D.C. "Presidential Address" |
| 4/91 | U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Social Security Disability Subcommittee Hearing "Improvements in the Disability System" |
| 10/90 | NOSSCR Mid-Year Conference - Chicago, IL "Presidential Address" |
| 6/89 | NOSSCR Mid-Year Conference - Washington, D.C. "Marketing the Disability Practice" |
| 5/85 | NOSSCR Third Circuit Law Mid-Year Conference Washington, DC |
Publications
"How Neurologists Can Help Patients Obtain Social Security Disability", Practical Neurology, March/April 2009
"Documentation for Social Security Disability: A Legal Perspective", Pennsylvania Neurological Society E-Newsletter, Vol. 1, Issue 2, July 2008
"A Guide to Social Security for Disabled Children", Practical Neurology, Vol. 7 No. 8, August 2008
"The Impact of the Doctor-Patient Relationship in Successful Social Security Disability Cases", Disability Medicine, Volume 5, No. 3-4, July - December 2005
"New Work Incentives Legislation Will Help Disabled", Volume XXIII, No. 21, Pennsylvania Law Weekly, May 22, 2000
"Disability Update", The Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) Chronicle, Volume 3, May/June 1999
"Social Security Eliminates Disability Benefits for Drug Addiction, Alcoholism", The Legal Intelligencer , Volume 215, No. 18, July 26, 1996
"The Dorchester Plan: A Law Curriculum for Secondary Schools", The Shingle 223, Volume XXXVII, December, 1975