The Philadelphia Bar Association’s 98th Chancellor, Katayun Jaffari, discussed the organization’s agenda for 2025, including furthering its mission to defend the rule of law; enhancing member services in the areas of innovation in law and mentoring, and choosing its next executive director. Now available: Watch a video of the Annual Meeting.
Renew your Philadelphia Bar Association membership for 2025 today! Don't miss out on amazing member benefits like the latest Bar news, upcoming networking opportunities, CLEs, discounted services, and much more!
News
The Association’s Vice Chancellor, line officers and Board of Governors elections were uncontested this year. The candidates were officially named to their positions during the Association’s Annual Meeting on December 10. Seven new representatives were elected in a contested election to serve on the Executive Committee of the Association’s Young Lawyers Division.
The Philadelphia Bar Association was founded with the mission of defending the pillars of our democracy. Judicial security is critical to advancing those founding principles, including advancing the rule of law and ensuring judicial independence. With threats against judges and courthouses on the rise, there is a need in the community to discuss possible solutions. Join Chancellor Jen Coatsworth for a critical conversation between judges from all levels of the court system and the attorneys who work in those courts about the role we can all play in addressing this challenge.
Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Jen Coatsworth issued the following statement in support of increased judicial security for the First Judicial District. The statement was made in response to a December 9 Administrative Order from Court of Common Pleas President Judge Nina Wright Padilla and Municipal Court President Judge T. Francis Shields along with the Administrative Judges from each division, requiring the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office to within the next 30 days make plans for increasing court security, including staffing entrances to court buildings; security patrols throughout public areas and courtrooms, and plans for safe and efficient transport of prisoners.
Follow in the footsteps of the Civil Rights Movement and gain insights to enhance your practice by joining us March 20-23 on a trip to Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia. Participants will gain perspective through interactions with people who took part in the Civil Rights Movement, along with attorneys from the Equal Justice Initiative. Additionally, we will be joined by Marissa Boyers Bluestine, assistant director of the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, who will discuss current legal cases and doctrine stemming from this period in history.
**PLEASE NOTE: THE DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS FRIDAY, JANUARY 10.**
Join your colleagues and friends at any of these upcoming Section holiday parties!
Criminal Justice Section Annual Reception – REGISTER NOW
Tue, December 17, 2024
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
State Civil Litigation Section Annual Reception & Holiday Party – REGISTER NOW
Wed, December 18, 2024
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Meet your compliance requirements with us!
View and download photos from the 2024 holiday parties from our Flickr account.
Features
A roundup of the latest activity taking place in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
Our Fall 2024 edition includes perspectives from members of the Association on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession. Members share their past experiences - the good, the bad and the ugly - as well as hopes for the future of DEI. The need for fair access to opportunities, embracing diversity, and challenging of biases are all reflected in the experiences shared by our members.
We want to hear from you! Do you have a legal analysis article idea or a story to share about a memorable case, social issues, travel or even pop culture, fiction or poetry? Share your submission with us to be featured in a future issue of The Philadelphia Lawyer magazine!
Email communications@philabar.org with the subject line: Magazine submission
Members have access to HeinOnline archive collection of Philadelphia Bar Association publications. To access the archive, you must be a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association.
Around Our Community
Mock trial helps students develop a passion for the law and build their public speaking skills. The Benjamin Franklin Invitational will be the largest in-person mock trial tournament at the high school, college, or law school level this year.
Members of the Philadelphia Bar Association are welcome to volunteer to score and preside over these trials. The total time commitment is about 4 hours, and there are four rounds of them over the course of the weekend, a morning and an afternoon round. The tournament is on January 18-19, 2025. Volunteers can do as few or as many as they'd like. This tournament means so much to Penn Mock Trial and to the students who come to the tournament.
There will be four rounds of competition: Two on Saturday, January 11th, and two on Sunday, January 12th. Each round will last approximately three hours with a brief break in between each round. Food will be provided! We invite you to judge as many or as few rounds as you like. The tentative schedule for the weekend is as follows:
Saturday, January 11, 2025
8:00 - 9:00 | Check-in
9:00 - 9:15 | Judges Meeting
10:00 - 1:00 | Round 1
1:00 - 2:00 | Lunch & Judges Meeting
2:30 - 5:30 | Round 2
Sunday, January 12, 2025
8:45 - 9:00 | Judges Meeting
9:30 - 12:30 | Round 3
12:30 - 1:30 | Lunch & Judges Meeting
2:00 - 5:00 | Round 4
6:00 - 7:00 | Closing Ceremony
Please register and fill out the application below. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Kenneth Lynch directly at lynchk18@lasalle.edu or (570) -780 - 1024.
The Courts, Community, and Rule of Law Committee of the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit announced today that it is hosting an essay contest for elementary students focused on civics, citizenship, and the concept of “We the People” – which are the first three words of the Preamble to the United States Constitution. The essay prompt is: How did our Nation’s Founders envision ‘the People’ when they drafted the Constitution, and how should we interpret their vision in our country today?
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is pleased to welcome the Honorable Cathy Henry as a United States District Judge. Judge Henry took the oath of office on December 12, 2024.
Judge Henry has considerable courtroom experience having spent the majority of her career as a public defender, first as an Assistant State Defender in Philadelphia for five years and then, for the last twenty-three years, in Federal Court as a Defender with the Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In 2008 Judge Henry was appointed the Senior Litigator in Federal Defenders Office. In this capacity, she supervised assistant federal defenders in preparing and handling jury trials while maintaining an active caseload. J u d g e H e n r y is currently an adjunct professor of Trial Advocacy at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and has been a clinical instructor at Temple Law School since 2003. She graduated from Drew University in 1991 and received her J.D. from the District of Columbia School of Law in 1995.
Fri, Jan 10, 2025
12:45 - 6:30 PM EST
James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse
Philadelphia, PA
Chief Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (EDPA) and the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania (HBAPA) invite local law students and recent graduates to an informative event on federal judicial clerkships. Attendees will learn about the hiring process, the experience of clerking, and potential post-clerkship career paths. While the event is open to all, it is focused on students and lawyers from diverse backgrounds or those interested in public interest careers.
Attendees will benefit from panels featuring current and former law clerks, EDPA judges, and Third Circuit judges. Following the panels, a reception will be held to give attendees an opportunity to network with judges and clerks.
This program started under former Chief Judge Juan R. Sánchez as part of his vision to increase the diversity of the court's workforce. The goal of the program is to encourage and attract highly qualified individuals from historically underrepresented backgrounds to apply for federal clerkships. Through partnerships with law schools and community organizations, this program aspires to create a pipeline of diverse legal talent that reflects the society it serves.
Benefits and Partner Spotlight
Our Annual Partners and other benefit providers give Bar Association members access to discounts from local and national retailers, for legal and professional services and more!
DISCOUNTS INCLUDE:
Decisis is a fast, reliable legal research tool powered by LexisNexis - free for Philadelphia Bar Association members - a $1788 value! Search all courts and jurisdictions (Need a case outside Pennsylvania? Find it with Decisis™.)
To access the benefit login with your member account.
In recent years, it has become apparent that the traditional principles pertaining to “value” in workplace benefits have changed.
