Gabriel L. I. Bevilacqua, a veteran litigator at Saul Ewing who served as 2004 Chancellor of the Bar Association, died on June 6.
“Gabe was a man of great stature, both in his physical size and his tremendous achievements. He maintained a strong and continuing presence in our legal community as a commercial litigator, mentor and leader and will be greatly missed,” said current Chancellor Marc Zucker. “During his tenure as Chancellor, he focused on initiatives that are still core to the Bar Association today, such as increasing the influence of our Judicial Commission and the creation of our State Civil Litigation Section. We express our deepest condolences to his wife Phyllis and sons, Gabriel Jr. and Patrick.”
During Bevilacqua’s tenure as Chancellor, he also oversaw a redesign of the Bar Association’s website to make it more functional and useful and the relaunch of the Bench-Bar conference. He testified before Philadelphia’s City Council to advocate for restructuring city business taxes that Bevilacqua said disproportionally burdened the City’s legal community.
“We are a regional economic powerhouse,” Bevilacqua told Council members, according to GlobeStreet.com. “Without a more competitive tax climate, Philadelphia will not prosper and well-known Philadelphia law firms may eventually be forced to maintain only a nominal presence within the city limits.”
Prior to becoming Chancellor, Bevilacqua served on the Bar Association’s Board of Governors, as Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer, and as president of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation. He was a longtime member of the State Civil and Public Interest Sections and the Federal Courts Committee.
“Gabe was one of our best chancellors and one of my best friends. He always had a positive attitude no matter what challenges he faced,” former Chancellor Rudy Garcia said. “He encouraged me and many others to become active in our Bar, for which I will always be grateful. Gabe was an inspirational leader, a superb lawyer and an exceptional friend.”
After many years as Chief Deputy City Solicitor, Chief of Major Trials and Chair of the Litigation Department for the City Solicitor’s Office, Bevilacqua joined Saul Ewing in 1984, focusing on complex commercial litigation and health care law, with an emphasis on representation of medical specialty boards.
“The Philadelphia legal community was lucky to have Gabe as a member and a leader. Not only was Gabe an exceptional lawyer, he was a kind and generous teacher and mentor to me and hundreds of other lawyers,” said Vice Chancellor Katayun I. Jaffari, who worked with Bevilacqua as a partner at Saul Ewing. “It was through his guidance and inspiration that I became involved in the Bar Association and I will be forever grateful for his support and encouragement. My heart breaks for his family and through tears I say he will be forever missed.”
Bevilacqua immigrated to the United States from Italy at age 7 with his parents and siblings. He had clear memories of the farm where he spent his early years and also of the excitement he felt when the family arrived in the U.S. “All my senses were alive, electrified with anticipation” he told The Bar Leader in 2005. While he was Chancellor, Bevilacqua was honored as an “extraordinary immigrant” by the American Immigration Law Foundation.
The family moved to South Philadelphia, where Bevilacqua initially struggled and was labeled a “troublemaker” because he didn’t speak English. He remembered spending most of his fourth grade year sitting on the wooden floor of a cloakroom, teaching himself to read English. He ultimately placed at the top of his class on a standardized test that year. “It was so good to be treated differently and accepted,” he told The Bar Leader.
A graduate of Saint Joseph’s University and Temple Law School, Bevilacqua’s interest in law was sparked by his participation on the debate team in high school, an activity that also ultimately allowed him to travel across the country and the world. In addition to his involvement with the Bar Association, Bevilacqua was also a chancellor of the Justinian Society, president of the Commission for Social Justice of the Order Sons of Italy in America and member of several hospital boards.
“If I’ve helped to bring people together to make the Bar Association relevant to a broader constituency this year, then I can’t imagine anything more worthwhile,” Bevilacqua wrote in his final Chancellor’s column for the Philadelphia Bar Reporter. “And I hope … we will always remember that this Association started in 1802 with a group of real, live lawyers sitting around a table exchanging views, ideas, experiences and law books – helping one another personally and professionally.”
The funeral mass is scheduled for Wednesday, June 14 at 11 a.m. at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, 9220 Old Bustleton Ave., Philadelphia PA. Visitation will be from 9-10:45 a.m. on June 14 the church. The burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Breathing Room Foundation, https://breathingroomfoundation.org/.
