The Barristers' Association of Philadelphia

Last updated
The Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Barristersassociation.png
Barristers' Association logo
Formation1950
PurposeProfessional development of Black lawyers in the City of Philadelphia
HeadquartersPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Region served
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Membership
1,000 Black lawyers, judges and law students
President
Dominque Ward
Affiliations National Bar Association
Website http://www.phillybarristers.com

The Barristers' Association of Philadelphia, Incorporated is a minority bar association located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which represents African-American attorneys. The association was established in 1950. The Barristers' Association of Philadelphia is an affiliate of the National Bar Association. One notable member of the Barristers is John F. Street, the former Mayor of Philadelphia. The purpose of the Barristers is to address the professional needs and development of Black lawyers in the City of Philadelphia through programs such as seminars, cultural events and publications.

In 1973, members of the Barristers’ Association served on the Liacouras Commission, which investigated ways to eliminate racial discrimination in Pennsylvania Bar admission procedures. In 1978, the Barristers’ Association joined other concerned groups in filing an action against the Philadelphia Registration Commission which resulted in the addition of 50,000 Philadelphians to the voter registration pools. In 1983, the Barristers’ Association provided testimony before the Pennsylvania State Legislature on the issue of the merit selection of judges.

In more recent years, the Barristers’ Association has sponsored or participated in activities that promoted youth awareness and career opportunities in the legal profession, and increased citizens’ awareness of their rights under the law. Scholarships to minority law students at local law schools are awarded annually to further encourage and support Black students in their pursuit of a degree in law. Continuing legal education seminars and political education forums are offered to members of the Barristers’ Association to facilitate professional development and political awareness.

Today, the Barristers’ Association continues to provide a very important and unique role for its members by providing a forum for discussion and dissemination of information of matters of particular interest to Black attorneys and the Philadelphia Black community at large. The Barristers' offers an attorney referral program to its members. In 2016, the Barristers' opposed House Bill 1538, which aimed to prohibit public officials from publicly releasing the names of police officers who used firearms or force to seriously injure civilians until the end of an official investigation. Some of its signature programs include the Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Drive, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Memorial Breakfast and accompanying Day of Service Project, the Annual Awards and Scholarship Gala, and the Annual Expungement Clinic.

The Barristers’ Association’s membership encompasses a network of approximately 1,000 lawyers and jurists who serve society at the highest positions in both the private and public sectors of the legal profession. As an affiliate of the National Bar Association, the Barristers’ Association is an active participant in a community of practicing Black lawyers, judges and law students in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Organization

The Barristers’ Association’s structure consists of an Executive Committee and an Advisory Board. The Executive Committee is responsible for the operation of the organization and is composed of elected officers and appointed members. The Advisory Board, which is made up of distinguished members of the legal profession, provides advice and counsel to the Executive Committee.

Related Research Articles

Barrister Lawyer specialized in court representation in Wales, England and some other jurisdictions

A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the philosophy, hypothesis and history of law, and giving expert legal opinions.

A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to practise there as such. For example, in England and Wales a solicitor is admitted to practise under the provisions of the Solicitors Act 1974. With some exceptions, practising solicitors must possess a practising certificate. There are many more solicitors than barristers in England; they undertake the general aspects of giving legal advice and conducting legal proceedings.

Queens Counsel Lawyer appointed by letters patent in some Commonwealth realms

In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a Queen's Counsel during the reign of a queen, or King's Counsel during the reign of a king, is a lawyer who is appointed by the monarch of the country to be one of ’Her [His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law’. The position originated in England. Some Commonwealth countries have either abolished the position, or re-named it so as to remove monarchical connotations, for example, ’Senior Counsel’ or ’Senior Advocate’.

Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. Unlike traditional volunteering, it uses the specific skills of professionals to provide services to those who are unable to afford them.

A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to separate the area in which court business is done from the viewing area for the general public.

Inns of Court Professional associations for barristers in England and Wales

The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple.

National Bar Association

The National Bar Association (NBA) was founded in 1925 and is the nation's oldest and largest national network of predominantly African-American attorneys and judges. It represents the interests of approximately 65,000 lawyers, judges, law professors, and law students. The NBA is organized around 23 substantive law sections, 9 divisions, 12 regions, and 80 affiliate chapters throughout the United States and around the world. The current and 75th president is Juan R. Thomas of Aurora, Illinois.

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, or simply the Lawyers' Committee, is a civil rights organization founded in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy. Its mission is to secure equal justice for all through the rule of law by enlisting the leadership of the private bar. While the Lawyers’ Committee works to stop all civil rights violations, the majority of its work targets the inequities that confront African Americans and other minorities.

An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are distinct practising certificates.

American Inns of Court (AIC) are designed to improve the skills, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar. An American Inn of Court is an amalgam of judges, lawyers, and in some cases, law professors and law students. Each Inn meets approximately once a month both to "break bread" and to hold programs and discussions on matters of ethics, skills, and professionalism.

The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) operates under the delegated authority of the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's nearly 41,000 active and inactive lawyers and other legal professionals. In furtherance of its obligation to protect and serve the public, the WSBA both regulates lawyers and other legal professionals and serves its members as a professional association — all without public funding. The WSBA's mission is to serve the public and the members of the Bar, to ensure the integrity of the legal profession, and to champion justice.

Law Society of British Columbia organization

The Law Society of British Columbia is the regulatory body for lawyers in British Columbia, Canada.

The Minnesota State Bar Association is a voluntary bar association for the state of Minnesota, including as members lawyers, judges, and other legal practitioners, such as clerks, registrars, and paralegals. The MSBA is one of the oldest state bar associations in the United States. Membership is not required to practice law in Minnesota.

Alabama State Bar

The Alabama State Bar is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Alabama.

The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) was established in 1872 as a nonprofit legal membership organization that provides San Francisco legal professionals with networking, educational and pro bono opportunities in order to better serve the community.

Gilbert F. Casellas American lawyer and businessman

Gilbert F. Casellas is an American lawyer and businessman. He is a private investor and business consultant in the Washington, D.C. area, a director of Prudential Financial, trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, and advisor to Toyota Motor North America, The Procter & Gamble Company, and Comcast Corporation. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Law Institute, trustee of the Pan American Development Foundation and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Workplace Harassment Second Edition 2018 published by Bloomberg Law.

JoAnne A. Epps is an American law professor, legal author, and Executive Vice President and Provost of Temple University. Epps' primary areas of expertise include criminal procedure, evidence and trial advocacy. She teaches Litigation Basics, a required course for first-year law students at Temple. Named by National Jurist as one of the 25 most influential leaders in legal education, her commitment to curricular innovation and experiential legal education inspired the creation of the Stephen and Sandra Sheller Center for Social Justice at Temple Law School, which introduces students to the many roles that lawyers can play in securing access to civil justice. Her students have included lawyers from China, Bosnia and Japan. She has trained Sudanese lawyers representing victims of the Darfur crisis, and taught prosecutors for the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. She has been named as a potential Barack Obama Supreme Court candidate. Before becoming Temple's Provost, she served as Dean of Temple University Beasley School of Law from 2008-2016. Epps joined the Temple Law School as a faculty member in 1985 and then served as associate dean for Academic Affairs from 1989 to 2008. Prior to coming to Temple, Epps was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia and a Deputy City Attorney for the City of Los Angeles. Epps received a B.A. from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Women in law

Women in law describes the role played by women in the legal profession and related occupations, which includes lawyers, paralegals, prosecutors, judges, legal scholars, law professors and law school deans.

Sharif Street is an American politician and attorney. He is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate who has represented the 3rd district since 2017. He is the son of former Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street and the nephew of former State Senator Milton Street.

Lorraine S. McGowen is an American lawyer. She is the lead restructuring partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in the New York office. McGowen works with financial institutions, lender groups and creditor committees who want to maximize recoveries in complicated bankruptcies, out-of-court restructurings and rights controversies. She also works with investors and acquirers of distressed companies. McGowen is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.