Deborah R. Gross, president/CEO of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts.

Deborah Gross, a litigator at Kaufman, Coren & Ress and former chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, has been tapped to lead Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, a statewide group advocating for reform of judicial selection and administration.

The public interest organization announced Monday it had selected Gross to serve as its president and CEO. She will take over the role from Maida Milone, who is set to retire at the end of the month after four years in the position.

The move makes Gross the third leader of the 30-year-old organization, which has seen its original focus on merit selection broadened somewhat to including advocating for judicial independence and greater public understanding of the legal system.

In heading PMC, Gross said she plans to focus on bridging the political and educational gaps when it comes to advancing the organization's goals.

"Given the lack of public confidence in the legal system, my focus will be trying to figure out a way to instill that confidence again," she said, adding that most people learn about the judicial process from TV. "We need to find a way to educate people about what happens in a courtroom. … This is what a democracy is and we need to educate people about it."

Regarding the group's core efforts advocating for merit selection of judges, Gross said she also hopes to spend some time finding new approaches to tackle the issue.

"It became too politicized. We need to figure out a way to take out the politics and have people under it make sense," she said, adding as an example the growth of money in juridical races and the need for more diversity on the bench. "I think that merit selection would really benefit the judiciary in terms of increasing its diversity. We all know that diversity is really important in having a fair and impartial legal system."

Gross is well known in the Philadelphia legal community after having served as an outspoken chancellor for the bar association in 2017. During that time, Gross worked closely with public interest groups across the city, and spearheaded an initiative called Take Action Philly, which was aimed at providing legal services and support to vulnerable groups, such as immigrants, that were at risk in light of shifting federal policies.

PMC's board chairman, Robert Heim of Dechert, said Gross' work heading the bar association and engaging with public interest organizations made him think she would be a great fit for heading the organization.

"She brings incredible energy and intelligence and she also is able to bring together groups and organizations that never saw themselves as being together under one tent," he said. "She's able to bridge a lot of different interests and try to find common ground, and that is something PMC has to do."

He said he expects Gross will follow in the footsteps of Milone and the organization's first leader, Lynn Marks, who he referred to as a pioneer in advocating for an independent, appointed judiciary.

Along with her experience leading the Philadelphia Bar Association, Gross has spent more than 30 years as a litigator, focusing her practice on plaintiffs-side securities, fraud, antitrust and consumer class action litigation. That experience, which includes working in courts across the country, means Gross will have a lot of real-world experience to bring to the job of educating the public and pushing for reforms, she said.

"I know judges. I've worked with them and argued in front of them. I know different types of judges and I've experienced different courts," she said. "I think it's really helpful that I've had this litigation experience so I can speak to my own personal experience to the judges in the legal system."

Gross said that for several years she has taken the third grade class of the William Penn Charter School to see a naturalization ceremony, which she said helps the children appreciate our rights as Americans to vote and serve on juries. That appreciation, she said, is something she has always been interested in and something she plans to continue pushing for in her new role.

"I was ready for a challenge, and this is something I feel brings all my experiences together," she said.