New Chancellor Savoth Outlines Phila. Bar Association Agenda
Legal assistance to returning war veterans, working with the National Constitution Center to teach civics in local schools, easing restrictions on foreign-trained lawyers and free advertising for members were among the agenda items incoming Philadelphia Bar Association Philadelphia Bar Association Latest from The Business Journals Not born to run the Bar, but Savoth’s Jersey roots helpedDiversity and the lawMarcellus Shale work lures Philadelphia lawyer DeVoren: Legal briefs Follow this company Chancellor John Savoth cited at the Association’s annual meeting Tuesday.
Savoth, 53, is a partner in plaintiffs firm Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky. The native of Neptune City, N.J., will become the Philadelphia Bar’s 85th chancellor next month, succeeding Rudolph Garcia. He was featured in this past week’s Philadelphia Business Journal, where he talked about how his working-class roots, which included loading and driving delivery trucks for the family’s wholesale banana business helped shape his commitment to the injured workers he represents and his commitment to the Association.
Here is a rundown on Savoth’s agenda for 2012:
- The Bar will launch a Military Assistance Program, in which Association members provide military families with pro bono legal assistance in areas such as consumer credit, bankruptcy, employment, housing, family law, wills and estates and special issues such as veteran benefits and compensation for service-related disabilities.
- Working with the National Constitution Center to provide civics education in local schools. The Bar already has a program that began in 2008 called Advancing Civics Education in which it partners with the School District of Philadelphia to send volunteer lawyers and judges into classrooms monthly to teach a civics curriculum. In 2012, Savoth said, the program will expand into more elementary schools and will include a partnership with the Constitution Center to enhance the curriculum and base of volunteers.
- Savoth said he would like to build on the Association’s international association partnerships and track global issues that impact the profession, including the eligibility of foreign-trained lawyers to the Pennsylvania Bar, a topic the Philadelphia Business Journal featured earlier this fall. The Bar Association is also a member of the new Global Philadelphia Association.
- Helping Association members attract and retain clients during the slow economic climate via new premium advertising opportunities on the Philadelphia Bar’s website. Called “Lawyer Profiles,” it will allow charter members to upload full online profiles with a photo and résumé of their professional services.