Fall at the Foundation

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By Leslie E. John, partner at Ballard Spahr LLP, and president of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation.

Summer is officially behind us and fall is in full swing here at the Philadelphia Bar Foundation. Fall is the perfect time to get involved and make a difference in the legal community. It’s been an eventful month so far, but there is still more to come. Read more about what we’ve been up to, and we hope to see you at our upcoming events. 

Asian Americans United will host its 24th annual Mid-Autumn Festival on September 14th in Chinatown, and the Bar Foundation participated in the festival, sponsoring a booth at the event. The festival will be the perfect opportunity to engage with the Chinatown community before the Equal Justice Center’s groundbreaking event later this year. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a celebration of community pride and collective responsibility – and we look forward to furthering that pride through the collaborative amenity spaces inside the EJC. 

The Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the Philadelphia Bar Association hosted a ping pong playing fundraiser at SPIN Philadelphia on September 10th which was well-attended and enjoyed by all. Proceeds from this event support the Philadelphia Bar Foundation’s annual unrestricted grants to nearly 40 legal aid organizations in our region. We appreciate the hard work of YLD members who organized the event, and the generosity of the sponsors and attendees.

The Philadelphia Bar Association will hold its annual Bench-Bar & Annual Conference on October 11th and 12th at the Borgata in Atlantic City. This year’s conference theme is “Looking Forward with Perfect Vision” in recognition of the legal community’s focus on Philadelphia’s future. Stop by the Philadelphia Bar Foundation’s booth at Bench-Bar to learn more about how we’re focusing on the future of legal aid in our region. 

Our long-awaited Access to Justice Celebration and Awards Reception is approaching on November 6, 2019. Last year, we transformed our traditional fundraising benefit into a relaxed weeknight event, and the change was very well received. The reception will take place at the Crystal Tea Room and will feature a keynote address from the Hon. Timothy K. Lewis on the importance of the Equal Justice Center.  This event honors the generous contributions of our donors and recognizes the achievements of pro bono and public interest lawyers in our community. Through the support of our Unified Giving partners, we are able to offer complimentary attendance to all of our 2019 supporters. We hope that your organization will consider becoming a Unified Giving partner to the Bar Foundation and join us for our annual celebration. 

We are excited to announce that we will be honoring Hausfeld LLP and Linda Peyton, Esq. at the Access to Justice event. Hausfeld will receive the Pro Bono Award of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation for their outstanding pro bono legal service which includes more than 11,800 hours of pro bono work by their attorneys during the last ten years in Philadelphia and across the United States. Linda Peyton will be recognized with the Philadelphia Bar Foundation Award for her work in representing vulnerable and undeserved individuals for the last 36 years, first at the Philadelphia Public Defender Association and now at the Legal Clinic for the Disabled (LCD). We look forward to celebrating the accomplishments and the impact of these exceptional attorneys.  

As we move through September and into the last quarter of the year, I hope you will reach out to me at any time with your thoughts, questions and ideas for the Bar Foundation and our Equal Justice Center project. As always, we have many ongoing programs, events and activities that depend on your support and engagement. I look forward to discussing them all with you.