Volunteer Opportunities Receive Positive Response and Strong Support!
Our 2022 "Giving in Action" campaign is in full swing. This year, we have been focusing our philanthropy efforts on volunteering. We have already held several successful volunteer activities with more opportunities planned for the fall.
In June, we assembled 500 hygiene kits for those experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia and delivered the kits, with extra supplies, to Project HOME to distribute to those in need.
In August, Volunteers supported Philabundance through its meal service partnership at the Hub of Hope. We helped prepare beverage service and distribute lunches to those at the center and throughout Love Park and Dilworth Park.
To prepare for back-to-school season, the Firm participated in ACHIEVEability's Backpack Donation Drive. Throughout July and August, we collected backpacks and boxes upon boxes of school supplies, including notebooks, pencils, markers, glue and more! In addition, the Firm collected $1,000 to donate towards additional supplies needed to help ACHIEVEability exceed its goal of sending 650 children back to the classroom fully equipped. Partner Monica Clarke Platt, who serves on the board of ACHIEVEability, helped organize the drive.
You can watch video recaps, view photos and stay up-to-date with the rest of the year's activities on the "Giving In Action" page of the Klehr website.
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Jessica Norman, Independence Realty Trust
Chief Legal Officer, Vice President, and Secretary of the Board of Trustees
Jessica Norman’s current role, she recently mused, grew out of a relationship she formed while she was with the Firm (from 2008 to 2011). While at the Firm, Jessica represented LEM and when she heard that RAIT Financial Trust was hiring counsel for IRT (then externally managed by RAIT), she reached out to a former LEM employee who was working at RAIT, sent her resume, and was, of course, hired. Jessica worked at RAIT overseeing legal matters that affected IRT until RAIT spun off IRT in 2017 and she remained with IRT. Jessica has guided IRT, a publicly traded REIT, through a period of tremendous growth. When she started, IRT owned and operated six multi-family apartment buildings; it now has over 120, located in cities and suburbs in 14 states. Jessica says that it has been rewarding to see IRT “grow from the ground up and to be a part of that.” As Chief Legal Officer, Jessica currently oversees three attorneys, two paralegals and the Risk Department. She also heads up IRT’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG Program and notes that they are on the verge of producing their inaugural ESG report. Jessica helped create and continues to be a member of IRT Women, which she refers to as her "passion project.” IRT Women has a mentor/mentee program, a book club and hosts events that discuss issues that affect women inside and outside of work. Jessica, the mother of two sons, ages 8 and 10, has two Havanese dogs (“my girls”), and is on the board of the Ronald McDonald House and a member of its Champion of Hope Committee. Jessica describes herself as a “foodie” and enjoys cooking and finding a new, hot restaurant to enjoy. She is somewhat chagrined that her sons now eschew the “kid’s menu” in favor of more sophisticated (and expensive) fare. Jessica cooks and her husband bakes, so they have the whole meal covered. Perhaps not unrelatedly, Jessica also enjoys yoga (and traveling).
Jessica, who remains in touch with Denise Day and Heather Levine, as well as Klehr alum Jawad Salah, who lives in her NJ town, notes that her experience at the Firm shaped her in many ways. Although she was a relatively new attorney when she started, she handled a broad range of real estate transactions that provided her with a lot of opportunities to “dig in and get some good experience.” Her time at the Firm, Jessica says, “taught me to use my skills to tackle whatever issue was before me.” Fun Fact: IRT’s offices are located at 1835 Market Street, the home of the Firm’s Philadelphia office.
Interested in being featured in our Alumni Spotlight? Send an email to marketing@klehr.com.
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RENEWED FOCUS ON EDUCATION THROUGH NEW PRACTICE GROUP
The Firm is excited to announce the formal formation of an Education practice group which will focus on K through twelve schools as well as higher education institutions. The practice is led by Corporate and Securities Department Chair Bill Matthews and Litigation Partner Lisa Lori. Both Lori and Matthews are intimately familiar with the challenges faced by educational institutions having served on several school boards. Matthews has served on La Salle University’s Board of Trustees since 2007 and served as Vice Chair of the Board prior to his election as Chair in 2019. He is currently co-chairing the Inauguration Committee for La Salle University’s recently elected President and also serves on the Finance and Budget Committee of the Board of Trustees of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary and as Chair of the Strategy Committee for the Board of Trustees of La Salle College High School. Lori is the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Marywood University as well as a member of the Board of Directors for Jefferson University Physicians.
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DEI COMMITTEE’S BUSY SUMMER
The Firm’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee continues to push its mission forward in 2022.
In June, Brett Feldman moderated a panel discussion, "Affordable Housing in Philadelphia: Maintaining Existing Housing and Increasing Supply." The all-star panel included: Octavia Howell, Pew Charitable Trusts; Anne Fadullon, Deputy Mayor, Planning and Development; Mo Rushdy, Managing Partner, The Riverwards Group; Dave Perri, former Commissioner of L & I; Gregory Heller, Director, Capital Projects & Infrastructure, Guidehouse; and Jamie Gauthier, Philadelphia City Councilmember, Third District. The program was so well-received and there was so much information to cover, that there is already discussion of a part two to continue the conversation.
Also in June, we launched an inaugural Diversity Fellowship Program intended to further our mission of recruiting and retaining candidates from diverse backgrounds, as well as those who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion. We welcomed two fellows – Kamia McDaniels and Alexandria Richards – who spent six weeks working and learning at the Firm. Alexandria just started her 2L year at Drexel University's Thomas R. Kline School of Law and split her time with the Corporate and Securities Department and the Litigation Department. Kamia also just started her 2L year at Widener University Delaware Law School. Her time was split between the Corporate and Securities Department and the Real Estate and Finance Department.
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ALUMNI HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE
Know an attorney that would be a perfect fit with Klehr Harrison? We are looking for great candidates to fill several open positions and join the Klehr family. We are committed to attracting top talent to the Firm and providing opportunities for growth and development.
Currently available positions include:
Please view the career details above. Interested candidates should submit their resume and a cover letter to the firm’s Hiring Partner, Douglas F. Schleicher, or send them by mail to 1835 Market Street, Suite 1400, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. |
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DID YOU KNOW…
...David Steerman was a moderator and speaker for the Pennsylvania Chapter of The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers’ CLE program that kicked off the Pennsylvania Bar Association Summer Meeting in Newport, Rhode Island in July.
...Meredith Lowry‘s article, “Machine-Generated Evidence: It’s Not Frye; It’s Authentication,” was published in the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ For The Defense.
...Ryan Moore was appointed to the Executive Committee for the Temple Law Alumni Association.
…Since our last newsletter, we’ve added four additional attorneys – Leonard Altieri, Matthew Hall and Alan Logsdon all with the Real Estate and Finance department and Michael Oliano with the Corporate and Securities Department.
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ADDING TO THE TROPHY CASE
The Firm is proud to report that our attorneys and practice groups have continued to receive awards and recognition for their stellar work. Most recently, the Best Lawyers recognized 22 attorneys as part of their 2023 Best Lawyers and eight more as part of their "Ones to Watch" rankings. This year, Joe Ferris and Kyle Fox join the 2023 "Ones to Watch" list of recipients for the first time.
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Stay connected with Klehr Harrison throughout the year by following our social media pages.
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