Shohin Vance
Shohin is an associate in Kleinbard’s Litigation Department and is a member of the Government Relations and Political Law Groups. His practice focuses primarily on appellate litigation, litigation involving governmental entities and officials, State and Federal Constitutional matters, and grand jury investigations. With a proven and successful background in Pennsylvania politics, Shohin is known for offering his clients in-depth insight to provide effective representation and successful results—often though creative and unconventional channels requiring a deep understanding of the rules of appellate and civil procedure. He has represented clients before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, where he previously served as a clerk for Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor, and the Commonwealth Court.
Shohin has experience working with highly sensitive and fast-paced matters of immediate public importance. Many of these case have been highly publicized and covered by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Hill, Politico, and more. Shohin has played a pivotal role in several cases representing the Pennsylvania Senate Republicans, including litigation regarding the conduct of elections, the constitutionality of Gov. Wolf’s COVID-19 disaster emergency, subpoena enforcement matters, and the Delaware River Basin Commission’s fracking ban. In addition, he has developed a proven track-record in election litigation, and acts as a trusted counselor to many elected officials throughout the state.
Shohin is an active member of the legal community outside of his role with Kleinbard. In 2021, he was selected to be a member of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which is charged with overseeing attorney misconduct and developing rules governing the legal profession. He is also member of the Federalist Society, which is a conservative and libertarian network in the legal community with the goal of reordering priorities within the legal system to place a premium on individual liberty, traditional values, and the rule of law.
Representative Matters
- Successfully defended the constitutionality of the Pennsylvania fiscal code. See Phantom Fireworks Showrooms, LLC v. Wolf, 198 A.3d 1205 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2018).
- Successfully defended two state senators in an action seeking a declaration that the budgetary process is violative of the State Constitution. See Brouillette v. Wolf, 213 A.3d 341 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2019).
- Represented a school district employee in connection with a grand jury investigation.
- Successfully obtained dismissal of a writ of prohibition challenging district attorney’s right to hold office. After the action as renewed in the form of a quo warrantoin the Court of Common Pleas, successfully represented the district attorney on appeal to the Supreme Court, which affirmed by way of a per curiam See Urbanski v. O’Malley, 207 A.3d 315 (Pa. 2019) (per curiam).
- Successfully defended a candidate for Philadelphia City Commissioner against a challenge seeking removal of her name as a candidate for the office.
- Successfully defended a large national telecommunications corporation in a negligence action, obtaining dismissal at the pleadings stage.
- Represented two Roman Catholic Dioceses in grand jury and civil investigations of child sexual abuse and related matters.
- Represented group of voters challenging an incumbent Lieutenant Governor’s residency. See In re Stack, 184 A.3d 591 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2018).
- Submitted an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court on behalf of thirteen members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation.
- Represented various members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation seeking to enjoin the Secretary of State from implementing new congressional boundaries prior to an election. See Corman v. Torres, 287 F. Supp. 3d 558 (M.D. Pa. 2018).
- Obtained emergency stay of a Federal District Court Order directing governmental official to pay attorneys’ fees and expenses and on appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, successfully represented the official in seeking reversal of the order holding him personally liable for attorneys’ fees. League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 921 F.3d 378 (3d Cir. 2019)
- Represents Pace-O-Matic, a developer and manufacture of skill-based video gaming software, and its affiliates in Pennsylvania in various challenges to the legality of the games and related actions pending in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.
- Represented the Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore, the Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader, and the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Caucus in litigation challenging the General Assembly’s authority to terminate the Governor’s emergency proclamation. See Wolf v. Scarnati, 233 A.3d 679 (Pa. 2020).
- Successfully argued that the District Court’s order denying a Motion to Intervene, filed by several Senators, should be reversed and the matter remanded for further proceedings. See Wayne Land & Min. Grp., LLC v. Delaware River Basin Comm’n, 959 F.3d 569, 575 (3d Cir. 2020).
- Successfully argued that the court of common pleas erred in permitting a county board of elections to canvass and tabulate several hundred provisional ballots submitted by individuals whose mail-in ballots were defective or did not include the necessary signatures. See In Re Allegheny Cty. Provisional Ballots in the 2020 Gen. Election, 2020 WL 6867946 (Pa. Commw. Ct.) (unpublished), appeal denied sub nom. In Re Allegheny Cty. Provisional Ballots in 2020 Gen. Election, 242 A.3d 307 (Pa. 2020).
- Obtained an emergency writ of prohibition instructing the county board of elections to refrain from taking any further actions relative to a certain class of ballots in dispute. In Re 2,349 Ballots in 2020 Gen. Election, 2020 WL 6820816 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2020).
- Successfully argued that the court of common pleas erred in permitting the county board of elections to canvass undated mail-in ballots. See In Re 2,349 Ballots in 2020 Gen. Election, 2020 WL 6820816 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2020). On appeal, a fractured Supreme Court agreed that such ballots do not satisfy the statutory requirements and, thus, should not be counted, but ultimately decided that its holding should apply only prospectively to elections held after November 2020. See In Re Canvass of Absentee & Mail-in Ballots of Nov. 3, 2020 Gen. Election, 2020 WL 6875017 (Pa. Nov. 23, 2020).
- Successfully argued that the county board of elections erred in canvassing various provisional ballots without receiving individualized evidence regarding the validity of the ballots. See In Re 2020 General Election Provisional Ballot Challenges, No. 4152-2020 (Westmoreland Co. CCP Nov. 23, 2020).
- Obtained dismissal of various tort claims at the pleading stage on the grounds that they were barred by the gist of the action doctrine. See Ohama v. Markowitz, 434 F.Supp.3d 303 (E.D. Pa. 2020).
- Represented various members of the Pennsylvania Senate as amici urging the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to decline exercise of extraordinary jurisdiction over a challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty.
- Represented the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Caucus in connection with reapportionment and redistricting, following the 2020 census.
Professional Associations
- Member, Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
- Member, Federalist Society
- Member, Young Lawyers’ Editorial Board, The Legal Intelligencer
Recognition & Accomplishments
- Lawyers on the Fast Track, The Legal Intelligencer (2021)
- Philly Forty Under 40, City & State Pennsylvania (2022)
- Ones to Watch, Best Lawyers in America (2021-2023)
- Cali Award for Excellence in the Study of Election Law (2015)