Philadelphia Bar Association Executive Director Harvey Hurdle has announced that he will retire effective June 30, 2025. The Association will hire a search firm to conduct a national search for its next leader.
“I am extremely proud of the work we have done at the Association in the past six years, including stabilizing the budget, revitalizing our sponsorship and member benefits programs, and creating an innovative new membership model through our institutional membership initiative,” Hurdle said. “None of this would have been possible without the commitment of our staff and volunteer leadership.”
Since joining the Philadelphia Bar Association as executive director in 2019, Hurdle has led the organization to a budget surplus and spearheaded a rebranding, website redesign and strategic planning process. The Association’s institutional membership program was launched in 2021 and 2022 with law school partners Drexel and Temple, offering complimentary membership to all law students and staff who are attorneys. It expanded in 2023 to include the Philadelphia City Law Department, District Attorney’s Office and the Defender Association and in 2024 with the addition of legal services agencies Community Legal Services, Philadelphia Legal Assistance, The Public Interest Law Center and SeniorLAW Center.
“We are very sad to see Harvey retire, but the good news is that he has given us the runway to plan and have a solid groundwork set for the transition,” Chancellor Jen Coatsworth said. “Over the past six years, he has brought dynamic leadership to our organization, encouraging us to innovate and to grow our Association to fit the needs of today’s legal professionals.”
In 2023 and 2024, the Association relaunched its partnership program, bringing on annual partners Alevistar, bit-x-bit, M&T Bank, ProfitSolv and Wealth Enhancement Group. As part of each partnership, Association members receive exclusive discounts and benefits on the products and services offered by each company.
“Improving the member experience has been at the forefront of all of the new initiatives that the Association has taken on in the past six years,” Hurdle said. “The result has been adding an On-Demand CLE platform; offering Decisis, a complimentary legal research tool, and expanding our annual Membership Appreciation week to honor outstanding individual contributors as Association ‘Bar Stars’.”
With Hurdle’s support, the Association’s Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention and Campaign for Qualified Judges have had three election cycles where only judges rated Highly Recommended and Recommended by the Commission have won seats on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.
“Harvey has brought tremendous value to our Association through his leadership, working with our Board of Governors to advocate on behalf of the profession and in support of the rule of law and equal access to justice,” said Chancellor-Elect Katayun I. Jaffari. “He leaves the Association in a strong position to further its mission for decades to come.”
A graduate of Penn State and Temple University, Hurdle previously served in financial and leadership roles in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, including as COO of the Human Rights Campaign.
To identify Hurdle’s successor, the Association is creating a Search Committee, which will be chaired by Ballard Spahr Philadelphia Managing Partner Marcel S. Pratt. The Committee will retain a search firm, which will assist in conducting a national search.
“We are thrilled that Marcel has agreed to serve in the role of chair of the Search Committee and we trust that he will ensure that the process is efficient, comprehensive and transparent,” Coatsworth said. “We are hopeful under our proposed timeline that the new executive director will begin work in early May 2025, to allow overlap with Harvey, so that Harvey can impart his substantial wisdom and knowledge.”
You can read the Board of Governors resolution regarding the creation of the Search Committee and retention of a search firm here.
