We need your help to urge the General Assembly to enact a funding plan to close SEPTA’s $213 million budget deficit before the implementation of severe cuts to service. The cuts would not just impact those who ride SEPTA or live in the area - they would have a significant economic and access to justice impact on the entire region and on the Commonwealth as a whole.
Register today for a compelling program examining the past, present and future of voting access, featuring a keynote by preeminent legal scholar, Akhil Reed Amar.
The keynote addressed will be followed by a panel discussion featuring:
We will also celebrate the retirement of Executive Director Harvey Hurdle, recognize the 2025 recipients of the Cheryl Ingram Advocate for Justice Award: Megan Watson, partner at BKW Family Law, and Victoria Sirois, founder ofAsylum Pride House, and honor the law students receiving the Eve Biskind Klothen Pro Bono Distinction Award.
Thank you to our generous sponsors:
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News
Join us as we continue our series on topics affecting our clients and the community, this time focusing on the rule of law. We will provide an overview of efforts to protect judicial and attorney independence and what the Association is doing to support this important work.
Join the American Heart Association along with your colleagues, family, friends and neighbors as we come together to inspire healthy living, mental health awareness and overall well-being. Whether in-person or through a digital experience, we're going to touch more hearts, move more feet and raise more lifesaving funds than ever before through the Philadelphia Heart Walk.
The American Heart Association is committed to driving equitable health impact in our community. Equity is always at the center of our work, and it will continue to guide all that we do. By participating in the Heart Walk, your lifesaving dollars will fund research, address food insecurity and access to healthcare, and help us to better understand the root causes of health inequity in our region.
We have created the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Lawyers Have Heart Team and are hoping to get all sections/committees/Board of governors/law firms to create teams within the larger Philadelphia Bar Association “Company”
Celebrate individuals and groups making a positive impact on our community!
Achievement Award
To be presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting on December 10, 2025
Description: The Award recognizes significant accomplishments in improving the administration of justice (preferably in Philadelphia.)
Deadline: Friday, November 7, 2025
As markets grow more crowded and competition heats up, how can your law firm stay ahead? Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with a leading professor from Indiana University as we unpack the forces driving competitive intensity today. This interview-style webinar explores the trends, strategies, and insights you need to navigate a rapidly evolving landscape — straight from the heart of academia to your screen.
The Philadelphia Bar Association is now on Bluesky! If you'd like to follow us, you can create a FREE account to keep up with the latest news and updates!
We take pride in supporting legal professionals in Philadelphia at every stage of their careers. Our members' experiences highlight the value of the Philadelphia Bar Association's resources, networking opportunities, and advocacy efforts. Whether you're a seasoned attorney, a recent law school graduate, or a law student preparing for the future, our community is here to help you thrive. Read what our members have to say about how the Philadelphia Bar Association has positively impacted their professional journeys.
Features
A roundup of the latest activity taking place in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
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
The Winter 2025 issue celebrates the 15th anniversary of the Civil Gideon Task Force, introduces the 98th Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, highlights the 2024 Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg "Pursuit of Justice" Legal Writing Competition winning essay, and more.
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.
If you have a moment, we’d truly appreciate it if you could leave us a quick Google review. Share how your experience with the Bar Association has helped you to make connections and grow your career! It only takes a minute, and your insights can help others know what to expect. Your positive feedback helps our Association grow and continue providing the best service possible for members.
Thank you for your support—it means the world to us!
Google: Philadelphia Bar Association -> Give us a star rating -> Write a review -> Hit Post
Public Interest Spotlight
In Philadelphia, we are fortunate to have the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR), the City’s official civil rights agency, which partners with local, state, and federal law enforcement officials and with community organizations to respond to hate crimes and bias incidents in Philadelphia. Responses can include connecting victims to services, facilitating community discussions, and law enforcement. CORA GSM is working with PCHR to ensure that the work here in Philadelphia benefits TN’s national early warning system.
Around Our Community
We enthusiastically invite you to participate in The GPALS Philadelphia Job Fair to be held on Friday, September 26, 2025. For over 30 years, this program has provided employers with the truly unique opportunity to interview law students from University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Villanova University, Rutgers University School of Law-Camden, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, Penn State Law, Widener School of Law- Harrisburg and Widener School of Law-Commonwealth. That’s nine schools in one program! The interviews will be virtual and will happen on one day.
The GPALS Philadelphia Job Fair is entirely free to all employers!
The GPALS Philadelphia Job Fair is a very cost-effective and efficient method of recruiting a superior group of law students who are truly focused on your specific practice and geographic location. We publicize your opportunity to all of the students and then provide applications of interested students to you in advance of the interview date. You pre-screen the applications and select only the students that you wish to interview. We schedule all of the interviews for you. Interviews will be conducted virtually, using your virtual platform that you will provide.
We sincerely hope that you will take advantage of the GPALS Philadelphia Job Fair in your search for talented professionals for summer and post-graduate positions with your organization.
Email Gwen Tolbert, Manager of Recruitment, Center for Career Development, Rutgers Law School gtolbert@camden.rutgers.edu for a registration form.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to administrative timelines, employer registrations that are received after June 20, 2025 will result in a Resume Collection. Resumes will be collected and forwarded to you for you to contact any students you wish to interview at your office directly.
We are happy to share two exciting opportunities for a quick mindfulness practice to help you get through your work week offered by mindfulness expert and attorney Courtney Schulnik!
The Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and the UCLA School of Law co-host the Trial by Combat, the 1-on-1 collegiate mock trial national championship. This tournament aims to celebrate the best individual college competitors in the country—and identify the very best.
The eighth annual Trial by Combat will be held at Drexel Kline Law at the Kline Institute of Trial Advocacy on June 20-22, 2025. The field features the top 16 college mock trial competitors in the country. Here are the times of the trials (inclusive of check in and post-trial feedback):
The Philadelphia Bar Association is partnering with Carpenters’ Hall historic site to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Provincial Conference in 2026. This June 1776 colonial gathering authorized the creation of Pennsylvania’s 1776 constitution and influenced the adoption of the Declaration of Independence just a week later. Due to the significance of this event, the Pennsylvania General Assembly has designated Carpenters’ Hall as the official birthplace of the Commonwealth.
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.
New Year. New Job? Alevistar Legal Search is a Philadelphia Bar Association Annual Partner, and the premier legal search firm in the Philadelphia area focused on partner placements, group mergers, and associate placements.
If you want to grow or take a new direction in your career in 2025, consider working with Alevistar. Some of the best jobs are never advertised and many law firms and companies turn to Alevistar to recruit and refer top candidates to fill these positions. Alevistar Legal Search has relationships with many types of law firms & organizations that rely on us to assist with their hiring process.
To learn more or set up a meeting contact Brian Levinson at 610-617-1218 or brian@alevistar.com or Jason Mandel at 610-617-1219 or jason@alevistar.com or visit www.alevistar.com.
Join by June 30th, and we will waive your July and August monthly dues. That is two full months to enjoy the Club, complimentary. For more information, email joinus@fitlerclub.com
Featured CLEs & Events
Check out these events from the Wellness Committee!
Join us for an evening of networking and conversation at our upcoming happy hour, co-hosted by the Young Lawyers Division alongside the Securities Regulation and Litigation and the Mergers & Acquisitions Subcommittees of the Business Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association.
Drinks and appetizers will be provided courtesy of Holland and Knight.
This event is generously sponsored by M&T Bank
Prioritize your well-being by joining the Wellness Committee for a series of enriching sessions focused on your health. From physical and mental practices to insights on longevity and cultivating happiness, there’s something for everyone looking to recharge and refocus.
Special thanks to Cozen O'Connor for hosting this wellness summit!
Thank you to our breakfast and lunch sponsor
**this event is free to members and advanced registration is required**
Join the Public Interest Section for an evening of networking and celebration. Generously hosted by Ballard Spahr LLP, this event celebrates the exceptional work of public interest students and lawyers in and around Philadelphia. Guests will have the opportunity to mix and mingle while enjoying light refreshments.
Please join the LGBT Rights Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Philadelphia LGBTQ Bar Association as we welcome incoming members of our profession, summer associates and law clerks, to the Philadelphia legal community. Graciously hosted by Ballard Spahr LLP, we hope that this event will provide opportunities for summer associates to network with established professionals and their peers.
In addition, we will be recognizing the 2025 recipient of the David M. Rosenblum Law Student Leader Award.
The award honors the memory of David M. Rosenblum, the late legal director of Mazzoni Center, a tireless lawyer and advocate, and an LGBTQ organizer while in law school.
