BY EZRA WOHLGELERNTER
Almost a year ago, on Law Day 2025, more than 400 legal professionals gathered with us outside City Hall to retake their attorney’s oath as part of a national Law Day of Action.
On that day, and throughout the past year, our battle cry has been ‘justice matters.’ We have acted at the local, statewide, and national level to speak out against threats to the rule of law and equal access to justice. Led by 98th Chancellor Katayun I. Jaffari, our Association launched a Meeting the Moment initiative last year to bring vital information and connections to our community at a time of high uncertainty.
Our important work continues in 2026. I and the other leaders of our Association, including our Board of Governors, Section and Committee Chairs, and other valued volunteers, are working tirelessly to identify opportunities for the Philadelphia Bar Association to speak in defense of the profession, and work toward the ideals that we all hold so dear.
To name just a few of our recent efforts:
- Our Professional Guidance and Responsibility Committee crafted and the Association submitted a letter opposing a proposed rule by the Department of Justice that would allow it to intervene in state bar associations’ disciplinary proceedings against DOJ attorneys. You can read the letter here.
- We continue to work with fellow Bar Associations and others to support law firms targeted by executive orders by the Trump administration that would restrict their ability to work with the federal government. We signed onto amicus briefs on behalf of the four firms, all of whom were granted relief by lower courts, and recently filed a brief with the U.S.Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
- We supported the City and other groups’ efforts to restore the slavery exhibit at the President’s House site on Independence Mall.
- We issued a statement in support of the Supreme Court ruling in Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump, where the Court held that President Trump improperly imposed significant tariffs on imports from several countries.
- As an Association, we signed a Pledge to Preserve the Independence of the Legal Profession and the Judicial System created by the leadership of the National Conference of Bar Presidents.
- Our Board of Governors adopted a resolution supporting programs allowing for the immigration of Afghan refugees who worked with, supported, and fought alongside the U.S. and its allies, along with their family members.
As Law Week and Law Day 2026, approaches, we hope you will plan to join us on April 30 from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at the Crystal Tea Room for an important conversation about the courts’ role as a keystone for justice. Our distinguished speakers and panelists will discuss the critical role the court system plays in upholding democracy, and what all of us who interact with our justice system can do in support.
In addition, at that event we will once again stand together, along with groups of legal professionals from across the country, in retaking our attorney’s oath. We look forward to standing with you and reflecting the unique role we all play in the continuing fight for justice.
Ezra Wohlgelernter is 2026 Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association. You can email him at chancellor@philabar.org.
