Giving Back in 2022!
The Firm has a long-standing tradition of supporting the community and the many great organizations serving it. Last year, our 2021 "52 Weeks of Giving" campaign was a success and received an overwhelmingly positive response from both the Firm and the community. With individual support and Firm contributions over the course of the year, a total of $154,000 was donated to charitable organizations that are important to our attorneys. We have set new goals for 2022 and we expect to see strong participation again.
For 2022, our campaign focus is on "Giving In Action!" This year we are focusing our philanthropy efforts on volunteering. We have a clear list of charitable organizations that are important to the firm and its people – developed from the successful 52 Weeks of Giving campaign. As we emerge from remote life, we will also hopefully transition to giving back in person in 2022. This may take different forms as we navigate the evolving landscape of the pandemic, but our focus is on volunteering - in whatever ways may be possible.
Throughout the year, we will coordinate volunteer activities with organizations and arrange acts of service for firm members to lend a hand. The organizations and associated volunteer work will be spotlighted on the web and social media. We hope some of you will consider joining us in these activities. Stay tuned for more!
If you would like to suggest an organization or event that is seeking volunteers, please let us know by emailing marketing@klehr.com.
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Randy Reliford, ServiceNow
Director, Program Strategy & Racial Equity
Randy Reliford, who worked in the Firm’s Litigation Department from 2005 to 2010, misses the practice of law but is excited to be part of building a new business. Randy finds that his years as a litigator and his post-Firm work in law school career development, including at the University of San Diego, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Whittier Law School, Penn State Law School and Florida A&M University College of Law, helped prepare him for his role in ServiceNow which he describes as “solving diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in the technology space.” Randy, his wife Ruba, and their son, Randolph Lucas, age 4 (Randy refers to it as the “why??” age), now live in Orlando, Florida. Fun Fact: Randy met his wife at his cousin’s graduation party in 1998, but they didn’t start dating until years later. At ServiceNow, which he calls “one of America’s best kept secrets,” Randy builds training programs for people from diverse communities to implement, develop and run ServiceNow’s Enterprise software platform that manages repeatable workflows. The goal is to fill a pipeline for the ServiceNow ecosystem with people who previously may have been excluded from the tech world, who can run the Enterprise software platform for the client and/or implement it. Randy notes his work at ServiceNow allows him to leverage everything in his background – his legal career looking at problems and outcomes, his career development work, his work with students and his desire to help people – to build this new field. Randy says he is thankful for his journey and he often thinks about how much he learned at the Firm – that it gave him an edge that he may not have gotten somewhere else. While he did not appreciate how much he was learning at the time “in the scary reality of our Klehr world” because he was working so hard, he enjoyed the way Bill Harvey “processed things,” listening to Grant Phelan work through a case strategy, and having Michael Coran and Bill Hill mentor him. Randy says he realizes that at the Firm, he learned from the core “cast of characters” not to be intimidated, to jump into the deep end of the pool and figure it out from there, and to be willing to take on challenges. Randy cherishes the great relationships he made at the Firm.
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NEW PRACTICE GROUP MAKING HEADLINES WITH KICKOFF
The Firm is excited about the recent formation of a new practice group, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth, and a new client pricing package for startup companies – Kickoff with Klehr. The practice is led by Jason Acevedo, a partner who joined the firm in 2021 as a member of the Corporate and Securities Department. While the firm has been working with early-stage companies for years, the announcement of a formal practice group and new pricing packages has led to renewed attention and enthusiasm. Philadelphia Business Journal and Law360 both provided additional coverage of the news. |
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DIVERSITY INITIATIVES TO GROW FOR 2022
The Firm’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee continues to push its mission forward in 2022.
The committee recently launched a page on the Klehr website to put our diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on full display. The goals and mission of the committee now have a full-time home online. Click the link to learn more.
Brett Feldman, in partnership with the DEI Committee and the real estate and finance team, is coordinating another panel discussion in June, "Affordable Housing in Philadelphia: Maintaining Existing Housing and Increasing Supply." The all-star panel includes: 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); View from City Council (Councilperson Gauthier). We hope to open registration for the event soon.
On the heels of a successful summer internship program in 2021, the DEI committee is developing a plan for a formal Diversity Fellowship Program which will be introduced soon.
Last year, we used heritage months as an opportunity to spotlight giants of the legal industry in the Philadelphia area. In the past, we have paid tribute with graphics and videos. For 2022, we will continue to honor those great trailblazers, but instead of just highlighting the facts, we are asking members of the Firm to find the answers. So far this year, we have paid tribute to Black History Month, Women's History Month, Irish American Heritage Month and Arab American Heritage Month. You can view the posts with some of the trivia facts that they put together to honor and celebrate these individuals’ contributions on both the local and national stages.
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CLE FROM YOUR DESK...FOR NOW...
As we start to return to our old, familiar habits, we are hoping to transition back to the in-person meetings and CLEs that we all know and love. For now, though, our virtual CLEs continue to draw interest and rave reviews.
We have three upcoming CLE webinars available, register or save the date today:
06.22.21 – Affordable Housing in Philadelphia: Maintaining Existing Housing and Increasing Supply,
Moderated by Brett Feldman.
Each complimentary online CLE program will run from noon to 1 p.m. and will qualify for one hour of PA CLE credit. You can view all events and register on our website.
* To qualify for CLE credit, you must attend at least 50 minutes of the live webinar. Verification codes will be provided at intervals during the webinar to confirm participation. You will be required to note the codes and provide them on the survey following the webinar.
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DID YOU KNOW…
…Paul Nofer was appointed to the Board of Directors for Be Strong Families.
...Chris Orrin is now a Certified E-Discovery Specialist.
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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 Philadelphia Business Journal recognized Brad Krouse, Heather Levine and Ron Patterson as 2021 Dealmakers. In addition, several projects that the firm worked on were honored in their respective categories, including Penn Medicine, which took home top honors as Deal of the Year.
Best Lawyers and U.S. News & World Report have released their rankings for 2022 “Best Law Firms.” Klehr Harrison moved up in several rankings and also added new areas of law to our rankings. Land Use & Zoning Law, Family Law and Litigation – Bankruptcy all ranked higher for 2022. New practice areas ranked in 2022 include Litigation – Bankruptcy (National and Delaware rankings), Litigation – Labor & Employment and Litigation – Construction. More than 22,000 firms in various areas of legal practice were ranked.
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Stay connected with Klehr Harrison throughout the year by following our social media pages. Just click the logos below! |
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