Bob Salzer is one of the most active and effective divorce litigators in Northeastern Pennsylvania today, a key partner now at the Bucks County firm of Williams Family Law. Still in his early 40s, and nearly 20 years as a practicing lawyer, Salzer is in many respects still early in his career, yet with valuable experience; his many years as an assistant district attorney in Bucks County, prosecuting criminal cases, set him up early for a central role in divorce law today: A matrimonial lawyer who, when all other options have been spent, focuses on hard-nosed courtroom advocacy for his clients. That’s something of an antiquated notion these days, as many family lawyers choose alternative methods – and often-limited outcomes. Salzer’s competitive, energetic nature is concealed somewhat by an understated style; clients will find that his short, incisive replies carry their own force. Now 43, he is likely to have greater influence in the profession in the years ahead.

Salzer is very much a hometown product: He grew up in nearby Huntingdon Valley and attended Lower Moreland High School, where he played football and baseball. The law interested him fairly early: As a teen he interned with the Philadelphia DA’s office where his uncle served as a prosecutor. When he went on to University of Pittsburgh, where he “took some time” deciding on a major, until he focused on English Writing, developing a foundational skill of course for his career. “You’d be shocked by the number of lawyers who can’t write well,” he says. “And writing is central to every aspect of lawyering, especially appellate work.” He too was part of Pitt’s chapter of The National Society of Collegiate Scholars, which honors high-achieving students. He went straight to law school, at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and knew early on that he’d become a criminal prosecutor. “You always hear about the young lawyer with a strong sense of justice – the fact is, I wanted to help victims of crimes, to make sure they felt the system worked for them. That’s why I gravitated toward it. Working in thepublic defender’s office would never have crossed my mind.” Returning to the Philadelphia area, he spent eight months as a law clerk for Judge Robert J. Mellon of the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. He later joined the county DA’s office. By his early 30s he was already a skilled courtroom prosecutor; he spent nearly five years as head of the office’s Homicide by Vehicle Unit. It was grueling, emotionally exhausting work: “The sheer volume of cases was pretty large for a county our size; much of the work on which I focused involved technical issues such as toxicology and crash reconstruction, which I enjoyed learning about in detail and then putting into practice in the courtroom.” By his mid-30s Salzer knew he’d built a solid record, but with political winds shifting in the DA’s office, he sensed his next best move would be to a private legal specialty; the firm of longtime Doylestown family lawyer Jeff Williams promptly recruited him. Turns out, says Salzer, “there was a lot more crossover (between specialties) than you’d expect: I already had a solid background in litigation, and the ins-and-outs of family law came fairly easily.” Today he engages in a fair amount of custody litigation, “really not all that far from what I was doing before.” (Clients will note, too, that Salzer brings important perspective to the divorce process: “I prosecuted drunk drivers who were responsible for teenagers being killed on prom night. No matter how difficult your divorce, and I am always sensitive to it, I avoid much of the emotion of a divorce case in part because of the perspective provided by my previous job.”)

Soon after joining Bucks Family Lawyers, Salzer added a credential: A masters in taxation. In turn the firm, always known for complex and high-stakes cases, handed Salzer with more and more such cases; he was named a partner in 2016. His practice today focuses on the matters of high-net-worth clients from throughout the region. Still, Salzer continues to handle some criminal-defense cases, many of those relating indirectly to his family law clients. Philadelphia-area sports-car enthusiasts also know of Salzer’s sideline: He’s a part-owner of Drive Anything, a Warminster-based dealer of low-mileage cars like Porsches, Ferraris and BMWs; he founded the business with lifelong friends Brett and Chadd Levine 15 years ago. “I love my work – all of it,” says Salzer. “As a litigator, I help my clients get through some of the toughest times of their lives. I get a lot of satisfaction from that.” He and his wife, an advertising executive, and two children live in nearby Bucks County’s Northampton Township, where he was elected last year to a six-year term to its Board of Supervisors.