Retired Dechert partner Seymour “Sy” Kurland died Nov. 23 at age 88.

Kurland worked as a partner at Dechert until his retirement in 1998, according to a statement from the Philadelphia Bar Association's Chancellor Mary F. Platt. His work was focused in class actions and complex commercial litigation.

Even after his retirement Kurland continued his legal work. According to an obituary from Kurland's family, he presided over hearings before the Chester Housing Authority after Judge Norma Shapiro recruited him to serve as special master.

Prior to joining Dechert, the obituary states, Kurland acted as city solicitor for the city of Philadelphia, a position for which he was recruited by Mayor W. Wilson Goode.

Platt's statement discusses Kurland's other past professional achievements, as well—Kurland served as the Philadelphia Bar Association's 60th chancellor, a role he assumed in 1987. Between 1978-1980 he was also a member of the association's board of governors. Kurland's family wrote that he ”believed strongly in the responsibility of lawyers to serve the common good of the citizens of the city of Philadelphia, and he never wavered in his support for the public interest bar.”

According to Platt, Kurland “was a cherished and respected mentor and friend to many attorneys who looked to him for practical advice and guidance. His sense of adventure and good humor inspired scores of lawyers to enjoy the practice of law and focus on serving the needs of their clients.”

He began practicing law at Wolf, Block, Schorr & Solis-Cohen and rose to be partner and chair of its litigation department. During this time, according to his family, Kurland was the first lawyer at a large Philadelphia firm to represent plaintiffs in antitrust class actions, building “a department at Wolf Block that was a powerhouse of nationally recognized antitrust litigators.”

From 1978 to 1979, Kurland was editor-in-chief of The Shingle, a magazine now known as The Philadelphia Lawyer. His family states that he wrote for The Shingle, as well as The Retainer, for over 20 years.

Kurland was a founding member and president of the Historical Society for the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Kurland graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and he co-founded and was chair of the University of Pennsylvania Inn of Court.

Kurland is survived by his wife, Shirley Levin Kurland; his children, Amy Kurland, (Robert Drake), Laura (David) Ferenci and Daniel (Amy Rose) Kurland; his siblings, Selma Spector and Benjamin Kurland; and his grandchildren, Samantha Drake, Jessica Drake, Hannah Drake, Andrew Ferenci, Ava Ferenci, Nathan Kurland, Cecelia Kurland, Charles Kurland and Sawyer Kurland.