Joseph Tate and Dennis Suplee grew up as working-class kids outside Philadelphia, one the son of a milkman and the other the son of a bread deliveryman. They were a year apart at Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill, and, at ages 70 and 69, they still sometimes run into each other at Our Lady of Good Counsel Roman Catholic Church in Bryn Mawr. As young men, both emerged as star litigators, law firm leaders, and pro bono role models at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis.
In 1986 Schnader’s financials were strong enough for it to tie for 75th place on the debut Am Law 100. It was coincidentally the same year that Bernard Segal, a towering figure of an earlier era who led the American Bar Association in 1969, stepped down as Schnader’s leader at age 79. By all accounts, Schnader never negotiated the transition. Tate decamped for Dechert in 1991, as Suplee stood by Schnader despite other opportunities.
