Alan L. Yatvin

Alan L. Yatvin, a partner and chair of the firm’s civil rights and special education/children’s disability rights practices, is a preeminent police misconduct, civil rights and children’s rights litigator. His practice focuses on civil rights litigation, representation of students with special needs, and criminal defense in state, federal and international courts.

With a successful career spanning more than 40 years, Mr. Yatvin has tried cases ranging from death penalty homicides to complex municipal liability police misconduct cases. He has also briefed and/or argued appellate matters before the United States Supreme Court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, the Pennsylvania Superior Court, and the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

Mr. Yatvin has successfully litigated over fifteen police shooting cases, recovering substantial compensation for victims and their families, recovering substantial compensation for victims and their families, including multi-million dollar settlements. On three separate occasions, he has obtained federal jury verdicts against the City of Philadelphia on so-called Monell claims by showing a pattern and practice of law enforcement officer misconduct and the City’s failure to properly train or discipline its officers, placing him among the most successful attorneys in Philadelphia on these challenging claims.  He has also successfully litigated a class actions on behalf of persons with diabetes in police custody, as well as cases on behalf of victims of large scale corrupt police practices.

Mr. Yatvin has successfully litigated landmark cases on behalf of children with disabilities and their families in the federal courts, including in the Pennsylvania District Courts, the United States Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States. In describing Mr. Yatvin in a ruling for his clients in a case under the Individual’s with Disabilities in Education Act, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit wrote: “[W]e note that the litigation here was conducted by highly qualified and experienced counsel…”  M.R. v. Ridley School District, Footnote 9.  

In addition to his U.S. clients, Mr. Yatvin practices at the international criminal courts, where he has represented accused persons before the ICTY and the International Criminal Court (ICC), both in The Hague, and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) in Phnom Penh, also known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.  He is also admitted to the list of counsel at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and the list of Victims Counsel at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

After graduating from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City in 1983, Mr. Yatvin served as an Assistant Philadelphia and Federal Defender before entering private practice. He was managing partner of Popper & Yatvin from its founding in 1988 through 2020. A frequent lecturer on police misconduct litigation and trial advocacy skills, he is the recipient of the 2012 Thurgood Marshall Criminal Justice Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association, where he has been a member since 1987. The Court of Common Pleas for the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) presented Mr. Yatvin with the 2010 Pro Bono Publico Award. He has been selected to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers List every year since the program’s inception in 2004.  He holds the preeminent AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, indicative of the highest rating in legal ability and ethical standards

Mr. Yatvin was a member of the National Board of Directors of the American Diabetes Association from 2015-2017 and continues to represent persons with diabetes, most recently as co-counsel in a class action against the New York City Department of Education on behalf of students with diabetes. He is a resident of Philadelphia.