Photo: J. Albert Diaz/ALM

Events

Duane Morris' Philadelphia diversity and inclusion committee and Women's Impact Network for Success hosted an event featuring four of the firm's alumni.

Judge Marjorie Rendell of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, U.S. District Judge Gene Pratter of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Barbara Adams and Paulette Brown shared stories about their time at the firm and their professional accomplishments.

Elected and Appointed

Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads announced that its chief diversity and inclusion officer Alfred W. Zaher was appointed to serve as an at-large director for Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia for a three-year term.

GALLOP supports Philadelphia's LGBT legal community and paves the legal path for gay rights in Philadelphia and the United States.

Zaher is set to be sworn in during a ceremony officiated by Judge Ann Butchart of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas at the GALLOP Philly annual meeting and holiday party Dec. 19 at The Racquet Club of Philadelphia.

Zaher is a partner and chair of Montgomery McCracken's intellectual property department.

He focuses his practice on patent, trademark and trade secret litigation, licensing and counseling.

In his role as the firm's chief diversity and inclusion officer, Zaher is responsible for overseeing, implementing and providing leadership to Montgomery McCracken's diversity initiatives.

He previously served on the board of GALLOP Philly as secretary and he served on the board of the National LGBT Bar Association.

Since the 1970s, GALLOP's primary purpose is to advocate for and promote the civil and human rights of LGBT individuals, to improve access to LGBT attorneys, and to improve the business opportunities, advancement and employment of LGBT attorneys.

GALLOP also advocates civil and human rights of all persons, regardless of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or national origin.

Announcements

Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, a pro bono legal services organization serving emerging artists and arts organizations, announced that after 10 years as a program of the

Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia's Arts and Business Council, it returned to an independent nonprofit organization.

While it will continue to operate during the transitional period with support from the chamber, the newly reconstituted nonprofit is undertaking a top-to-bottom reimagination of its programming, in order to enhance its support of Philadelphia's arts and culture community.

PVLA is the only legal aid organization in the region dedicated to providing pro bono legal services to the arts and culture sector, with a focus on providing essential legal services to low-income artists and fledgling arts organizations.

In recent years, PVLA provided, on average per year, roughly 3,600 hours pro bono legal services valued at approximately $1.4 Million to more than 265 artists, arts groups and inventors.

PVLA's services to the legal and arts communities also include continuing legal education for lawyers, free educational programming for artists regarding their legal rights, a speakers bureau offering speakers at no cost to arts organizations and schools, and other resources.