Attorneys Gabriella Fontan and Sarah Robinson have joined the Philadelphia Bar Association in the senior roles of Director of Policy and Legal Services and Staff Attorney for Policy, respectively.
Fontan, who was most recently senior staff attorney to First Judicial District Administrative Judge Hon. Lisette Shirdan-Harris, will oversee the Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service and fee disputes program; serve as staff liaison to the Association’s Board of Governors, and support the Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention, which provides nonpartisan ratings for Philadelphia judicial candidates.
Robinson, who was most recently an attorney at Philadelphia Legal Assistance, will work with the volunteer leadership of the Association’s Sections and Committees on policy issues and also serve as staff liaison to the Delivery of Legal Services Committee and the Civil Gideon Task Force.
“We are thrilled to have Gabriella and Sarah join our staff,” said Harvey Hurdle, executive director of the Philadelphia Bar Association. “Their experience will help us continue to grow our efforts to advocate for policies that elevate the legal profession and expand access to justice, along with providing critical services to the public through our LRIS program and our judicial ratings.”
In addition to her position working for Judge Shirdan-Harris, Fontan also previously serviced as a judicial law clerk in Camden County Superior Court, Criminal Trial Division, for Hon. Francisco Dominguez and worked in private practice as an associate at a civil litigation law firm. Prior to becoming an attorney, Fontan was an educator, case manager, and victim’s advocate through various nonprofit organizations focused on underserved populations in Philadelphia. She has a bachelor’s degree from Temple University, a J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, and a master’s in public administration from Widener University.
A graduate of West Chester University and Villanova’s Charles Widger School of Law, Robinson brings to her position wide-ranging litigation experience in both civil and criminal matters, as well as expertise in cases involving gender-based and interpersonal violence. At Philadelphia Legal Assistance, she represented survivors of domestic violence in family law matters and supervised special projects, including the Penn Law custody pro bono clinic and the Equal Justice Works Crime Victims Advocacy fellow.
In addition to hiring Fontan and Robinson, the Association has also promoted two longtime staff members: Andrea Morris-Tracey has been promoted to Director of Member Services and Outreach and Wesley Terry has been promoted to Director of Technology and Infrastructure.
Morris-Tracey has worked for the Bar Association for 24 years, playing a major role in initiatives including expanding member benefits to add free legal research and discounts on a number of professional and lifestyle services, and establishing institutional partnerships with Temple and Drexel law schools, the Defender Association of Philadelphia, and the City of Philadelphia Law Department and District Attorney’s Office.
Terry has worked for the Association for 15 years, serving as web manager since 2008. He has played a key role in migrating systems to Office 365, RingCentral, LRIS Contact Center, and MemberCentral, while significantly reducing IT costs.
“Our Association has made significant improvements to our member experience in recent years and Andrea and Wes have both been integral to those initiatives,” Hurdle said. “We know they will continue to help our organization move forward in their new roles.”
