Civil Rights Symposium 2026 – Part One: Speech, Protest, and the First Amendment: Legal Limits in a Polarized Era – Lancaster

Riley H. Ross III is a Partner at Mincey Fitzpatrick Ross, LLC. He has been practicing law since 2000 and has extensive experience in the areas of civil rights litigation, federal criminal law, white-collar criminal defense, Title IX litigation, employment discrimination and general civil litigation. Mr. Ross is the 2023 recipient of The Honorable William F. Hall Award, presented by The Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia, Inc. and the 2021 recipient of the Champion Award, presented by the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Civil and Equal Rights Committee to an individual who champions for civil rights for all Pennsylvanians. Mr. Ross has been named a “2009 Lawyer on The Fast Track,” a “2010 Pennsylvania Rising Star,” and a Pennsylvania SuperLawyer® each year since 2014. Mr. Ross serves as President of the Board of Directors of the ACLU – Pennsylvania. He is a Member of the Board of Governors for the Pennsylvania Bar Association and is an appointed member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Judicial Evaluation Commission. Mr. Ross also serves on the Board of Directors of No Longer Bound and Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers. Mr. Ross previously spent 10 years as a Board Member of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, from its inception until 2019, and served as Secretary of the Board of Directors for the Defenders Association of Philadelphia. Mr. Ross was appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to serve as Chair of the Third Circuit Lawyers Advisory Committee and on the Pennsylvania Criminal Rules Committee. Mr. Ross is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Mr. Ross received a B.S. in Psychology from Longwood College, a M.A. in Experimental Psychology from Western Kentucky University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia. After law school, Mr. Ross clerked for the Honorable James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Currently in private practice, Ms. Shuster was Chief Counsel of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission from 1983-2005. She was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1974 and to the United States Supreme Court in 1978. She served as a Deputy Attorney General, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Civil Litigation, from 1978-83, as an Assistant Attorney General, Pennsylvania Department of Health, 1977-78, and as an Assistant General Counsel, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, 1974-77. Ms. Shuster has conducted nation-wide training on employment discrimination for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and for numerous legal and business organizations. She has been a course planner and faculty member for several Pennsylvania Bar Institute courses, including the first three CERC CLEs on Election Law, the annual CERC Civil Rights Symposia, Practice Before the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Whose Constitution Is It, Anyway?, Errant Judges and Lawyers: What to Do? and Civil Rights: To Preserve and Protect, and many discrimination law courses, covering the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, general discrimination law, sexual harassment, age discrimination and discrimination on the basis of disability. Her discrimination law publications include “The Commonwealth Court and the Interpretation of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act,” Widener Law Journal, 2011, and “Service/Support Animals,” Pennsylvania Bar Quarterly, 2006. Ms. Shuster served as the Civil and Equal Rights Committee’s ambassador to the PBA Diversity Team from 2010-2015. She served on the “Paths to Leadership” panel at the 2012 YLD Summer Meeting, as a member of the PBA Task Force on the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice, and as a member of the “Court as Employer Gender Bias Subcommittee Work Group” of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Justice System. Ms. Shuster received her B.A. from Temple University in 1971 and her J.D. from Villanova School of Law in 1974. She is admitted to the bars of the United States Supreme Court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Middle and Eastern District Courts of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Ms. Shuster is a member of the American Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, where she is a member of the Civil and Equal Rights Committee (Chair of the CLE Committee, past Chair & Co-Chair of CERC), Women in the Profession Committee (Member of the Executive Committee, Chair of the Book Club), Minority Bar, Statutory Law, and Immigration Law Committees. She is a Bencher in the James S. Bowman American Inn of Court and a past president of the Harrisburg Area Women Lawyers Association. In November 2023, Ms. Shuster was the first recipient of the PBA Women in the Profession’s Special Achievement Award which recognizes achievements by a female member of the legal profession whose actions and work have promoted the betterment of women in the law and have enhanced services to women in general. She was included in the 2021 Women in the Profession Report Card’s “Profiles of Women Advocating for Social Change.” In 2020, Ms. Shuster was awarded the PBA Civil & Equal Rights Champion Award, an annual award established by the Civil & Equal Rights Committee to honor an individual who champions civil rights for all Pennsylvanians.Currently in private practice, Ms. Shuster was Chief Counsel of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission from 1983-2005. She was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1974 and to the United States Supreme Court in 1978. She served as a Deputy Attorney General, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Civil Litigation, from 1978-83, as an Assistant Attorney General, Pennsylvania Department of Health, 1977-78, and as an Assistant General Counsel, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, 1974-77. Ms. Shuster has done nation-wide training on employment discrimination for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and for numerous legal and business organizations. She has been a course planner and faculty member for several Pennsylvania Bar Institute courses, including the first three CERC CLEs on Election Law, the annual CERC Civil Rights Symposia, Practice Before the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Whose Constitution Is It, Anyway?, Errant Judges and Lawyers: What to Do? and Civil Rights: To Preserve and Protect, and many discrimination law courses, covering the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, general discrimination law, sexual harassment, age discrimination and discrimination on the basis of disability. Her discrimination law publications include “The Commonwealth Court and the Interpretation of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act,” Widener Law Journal, 2011, and “Service/Support Animals,” Pennsylvania Bar Quarterly, 2006. Ms. Shuster served as the Civil and Equal Rights Committee’s ambassador to the PBA Diversity Team from 2010-2015. She served on the “Paths to Leadership” panel at the 2012 YLD Summer Meeting, as a member of the PBA Task Force on the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice, and as a member of the “Court as Employer Gender Bias Subcommittee Work Group” of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Justice System. Ms. Shuster received her B.A. from Temple University in 1971 and her J.D. from Villanova School of Law in 1974. She is admitted to the bars of the United States Supreme Court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Middle and Eastern District Courts of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Ms. Shuster is a member of the American Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, where she is a member of the Civil and Equal Rights Committee (Chair of the CLE Committee, past Chair & Co-Chair of CERC), Women in the Profession Committee (Member of the Executive Committee, Chair of the Book Club), Minority Bar, Statutory Law, and Immigration Law Committees. She is a Bencher in the James S. Bowman American Inn of Court and a past president of the Harrisburg Area Women Lawyers Association. In November 2023, Ms. Shuster was the first recipient of the PBA Women in the Profession’s Special Achievement Award which recognizes achievements by a female member of the legal profession whose actions and work have promoted the betterment of women in the law and have enhanced services to women in general. She was included in the 2021 Women in the Profession Report Card’s “Profiles of Women Advocating for Social Change.” In 2020, Ms. Shuster was awarded the PBA Civil & Equal Rights Champion Award, an annual award established by the Civil & Equal Rights Committee to honor an individual who champions civil rights for all Pennsylvanians.

Patricia Hamill is the Co-Chair of Clark Hill’s Title IX and Campus Discipline practice with a nationwide practice representing college students, faculty members, and administrators in campus disciplinary proceedings and in litigation following flawed disciplinary processes. She is a skillful negotiator who works to resolve matters without the need for litigation. When that is not possible, Patricia has been successful in bringing lawsuits around the nation for violations of Title IX or other civil rights statutes, breach of contract and tort liability on the basis that colleges’ disciplinary processes failed to ensure fundamental due process rights, discriminated on the basis of sex and/or breached contractual obligations. Nationally ranked in the Chambers & Partners national Higher Education practice area, Patricia was noted by clients as “highly regarded for her plaintiff-side Title IX expertise” whose biggest strength is “her great judgment and her human touch when dealing with complicated situations.” Patricia is a frequent speaker on the ever-changing legal landscape of higher education. Given her expertise, she has testified numerous times before the Department of Education and was invited to testify on due process issues before the United States Senate’s hearing on “Reauthorizing HEA: Addressing Campus Sexual Assault and Ensuring Student Safety and Rights” in Washington DC (April 2019).

Ms. Martinez founded JBM Legal, LLC, a full-service law firm dedicated to providing legal representation to the Pittsburgh immigrant community . Currently, JBM Legal, LLC has offices in Pittsburgh, PA, Whittier, CA, and Venice, FL. Ms. Martinez is a graduate of Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She obtained her Juris Doctorate from the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law at Arizona State University. Prior to establishing JBM Legal, LLC, Ms. Martinez was in-house counsel to a large International IT company, where she gained extensive experience in employment-based immigration and global immigration. Ms. Martinez’s currently is the managing partner, and her practice focuses on business immigration, family immigration and removal proceedings. JBM Legal, LLC attorneys also provide legal services to the immigrant community in the areas of criminal law, family custody and support law, small business law and litigation-general practice. Ms. Martinez has been asked to present at AILA National Meetings, PBI panels and webinars, Sole and Small Firm Conference, Civil Litigation Conference-PBA, PBA Annual Meeting. Ms. Martinez currently serves/served on various boards: PBA Board of Governors- Secretary of the PBA, Zone 12 Governor, Minority Governor at large, Pennsylvania Industrial Development Board, CASA-Court Appointed Special Advocate Board, ACLU-Pittsburgh Chapter Board, and the ACBA-Allegheny County Bar Association Board. Ms. Martinez, currently serves as the chair of the Pittsburgh Chapter of AILA, and the AILA National Board of Governors 2005-2006, 2022-2023, 2023-2024. Committees: AILA National Membership Committee, Waivers Committee, Hispanic Interest Law Group, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 AILA National Conference Planning Committee, Current Vice-chair Bylaws-PBA, Vice-chair of Immigration Law Committee-PBA, chair of the Diversity Team-PBA, and chair of the Minority Bar Committee- PBA. Ms. Martinez founded the John Alan Meehan Citizenship Institute under the Allegheny County Bar Foundation, which provides pro bono legal representation to applicants for U.S. Citizenship and sponsors a fellow for summer work in a public-interest entity.

For more than 18 years, Ms. Thompson of the Law Office of Sandra Thompson, LLC has worked to better the lives of her clients. She has worked in various aspects of the law as a case manager in a children’s group home, a therapeutic support worker, a probation officer and as an attorney in private practice. Ms. Thompson served York County, PA as an assistant district attorney and an assistant public defender. She knows the ins and outs of the district attorney’s office, such as how they prepare for their cases and how they tackle cases in court. Ms. Thompson can represent your interests in the Pennsylvania and federal courts. Sandra is admitted to the PA Supreme Court, the Middle, and Eastern Districts of the United States District Courts, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.

Susan Saba Roinick, Esq. is a Nurse Attorney with the law firm Seeger Weiss LLP. She joined Seeger Weiss in 2018. The firm has offices in Old City, Philadelphia, and its flagship office is in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. Ms. Saba Roinick graduated with a Juris Doctor from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 2006. She also earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing from La Salle University, where she graduated magna cum laude. She practices pharmaceutical drug and medical device products liability. Before joining Seeger Weiss, she was an Assistant Public Defender in Lycoming County. Susan has served as law clerk to The Honorable Nancy L. Butts of the 29th Judicial District and The Honorable Robert C. Daniels of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Susan is an active community servant. She sits on the Advisory Committee of the Nurse-Family Partnership of the Guthrie Health System. Her past board experience includes serving as Secretary of Sullivan County Victim Services. She also enjoys doing “Read Alouds” with The Rendell Center. Read Alouds are an opportunity for volunteer attorneys to read and discuss stories via Zoom with elementary school students across the Commonwealth. Susan is an active member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. She is the immediate Past Chair of the Health Care Law Committee. She is also a member of the Women in the Profession Section, the Civil and Equal Rights Committee, and the Minority Bar Committee. In addition to her private practice, Susan provides pro bono services as a volunteer attorney for Philly VIP and North Penn Legal Services. Originally from Bucks County, PA, Susan now resides in Sullivan County, PA, with her husband, daughter, two cats and a dog. Her family is active in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Dushore, PA, where Susan has served as First Holy Communion teacher, choir member, and lector. Susan is a 1998 graduate of Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY.

Gabrielle Outlaw is a dedicated attorney with a primary focus on general liability defense, including premises liability, product liability, automobile liability, and food-borne illnesses defense. Gabrielle handles day-to-day case management, developing defense strategies for effective matter resolution on behalf of automotive manufacturers, retail corporations, and notable local and national corporations and entities. Her litigation experience includes drafting dispositive motions and submissions, such as preliminary objections and motions for summary judgment, to argue for the dismissal of claims against her clients. Regularly appearing in depositions, hearings, and other court proceedings, Gabrielle leverages her extensive experience to effectively defend her clients with precision and skill. In her experience, Gabrielle has defended claims of asbestos/toxic tort litigation. She represented clients in diverse matters, including insurance fraud, trucking, and dram shop claims.

Brian Hauss is the deputy director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy & Technology Project, where he focuses on free speech issues. Since joining the ACLU in 2012, he has litigated cases throughout the country defending the First Amendment rights of authors, journalists, media organizations, protesters, labor unions, civil servants, nonprofits, for-profits, and gadflies. He is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School and served as a law clerk to the Hon. Marsha S. Berzon of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Malak Afaneh is a Staff Attorney at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), where she litigates cases challenging anti-Arab discrimination. Her work focuses on civil rights and free speech litigation. She has challenged legislation restricting political expression, including California’s AB 715, brought civil rights claims arising from police misconduct and the suppression of protest activity, and represented students, workers, and advocates facing retaliation by universities for protected political speech. She received her J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law and a B.A. in Politics and Middle Eastern Studies from Pomona College.

Samantha Harris is a founding and managing partner of Allen Harris PLLC, a law firm she co-founded in 2021 to represent college students and faculty in matters involving free speech and due process. She represents clients nationwide in high-stakes disputes with colleges and universities, including campus disciplinary proceedings, Title IX matters, and cases involving academic freedom and First Amendment rights. Samantha has devoted her career to protecting civil liberties in higher education and has more than 20 years of experience advising students, faculty, and attorneys on these issues. Before founding Allen Harris PLLC, she spent 15 years at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, where she worked to reform university policies and practices that infringed on fundamental rights. Samantha is a frequent speaker and author on campus free speech and due process issues. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, New York Daily News, Inside Higher Ed, Reason, National Review, and Quillette, among other outlets, and she has appeared on ESPN, Fox News, CNN, NPR, and other media platforms.

Maria Feeley chairs the Board of Rosemont College and is the Chief Legal Officer of Washington and Lee University, a top nationally ranked university with an endowment exceeding $2 billion. She previously served as Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary, and Interim Division I Athletics Director (2 years) of the University of Hartford, which has seven colleges and offers over 100 degree programs. There she oversaw the Office of General Counsel, Office of EEO Programs and Title IX, Division I Athletics Department, Office of the Secretary, Compliance and ERM Programs. Before Hartford, she was the Chief Legal Officer of Florida A&M University, a partner in the AmLaw100 firm Troutman Pepper Locke f/k/a Pepper Hamilton, and a senior consultant for FGIS, a risk management company former FBI Director Freeh founded and Pepper Hamilton acquired. In 2014, the Pennsylvania Governor appointed her to the State Ethics Commission, an independent agency which enforces the Lobbying Disclosure Law, Ethics, Gaming, and Medical Marijuana Acts. Philly Biz named her a “Top Business Attorney;” Profiles in Diversity Journal honored her in its 10th Annual WomenWorthWatching® issue; The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly named her one of Pennsylvania’s 25 Women of the Year.

Johnda “Jonnee” Bentley is associate counsel in the legal department of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) in Washington, DC. In that role, she supports litigation and amicus brief filings to advance academic freedom and protect First Amendment rights. Prior to joining the AAUP, Jonnee served as an appellate attorney in the Occupational Safety and Health Division of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor. She also was associate general counsel at the Service Employees International Union, where she supported the Fight for $15 fast‑food organizing campaign and healthcare campaigns. Jonnee began her legal career at the National Labor Relations Board, working at both headquarters and regional offices in Baltimore and Washington, DC. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ohio University and a Juris Doctor from the City University of New York School of Law. She is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and New York.

Dan Berger is a Partner at Green & Spiegel, U.S. leading the Academic and Medical Immigration Team. He is an Academic Fellow at Cornell Law School, and an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. He is on the Legal Advisory Board and the Board of Directors of the Presidents’ Alliance on Immigration & Higher Education, and on the Legal Advisory Council of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (largest bipartisan congressional caucus). Dan also advises the Talent Mobility Fund on STEM immigration issues. He is a frequent writer and speaker on immigration, including after the 2020 election for the Brookings Institute on recommendations for the Biden/Harris Administration and also on strategies to support international entrepreneurs. He co-edited an updated edition of Immigration Options for Academics and Researchers. He also wrote an Issue Brief for the American Council on Education (ACE) after the 2016 election, and was a co-author on a “Note” on academic immigration for the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA). Dan has been quoted in various media including the Atlantic Magazine, USA Today, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, Science, Bloomberg News, the Guardian, Forbes, and the Huffington Post. In 2023, AILA awarded Dan the “President’s Commendation” for “exemplary service to the President and AILA,” including on the USCIS Headquarters Liaison Committee, writing practice advisories, serving on the AILA Afghanistan Taskforce (a rapid response effort to help Afghans after the Taliban takeover), and being on the editorial board of the AILA Law Journal. Dan has a particular focus on DACA and undocumented students, evaluating options for longer term status. He advises thedream.us (nation’s largest private scholarship fund with over 10,000 scholarships in ten years to Dreamers). Dan co-founded and helps lead an innovative DACA clinic at Cornell focused on employment-based options, as described in this Boston Globe article. Last year, he helped lead a pilot program for President Biden’s waiver program for Dreamers to move into status through employer-sponsorship, as described in this New York Times article. Dan was invited to the White House for the June 2024 announcement as recognition of his role in the process. He was until recently an immigration law adviser on an NIH grant on the use of DNA technology in immigration, and co-authored a peer reviewed article in Science on the use of DNA technology to address family separation at the border. Dan developed his interest in immigration in college at Harvard, where he studied immigration history and taught English to adult refugees. He graduated from Cornell Law School and has practiced immigration law for over 25 years.

Sarah Paoletti founded and directs the Transnational Legal Clinic, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s international human rights and immigration clinic. Students enrolled in the clinic grapple with international and comparative legal norms, working across borders, legal systems, cultures, and languages, representing individuals in immigration proceedings, and advocating on behalf of and in collaboration with organizations and individuals before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the UN, and other fora. Paoletti’s research focuses on the intersection of human rights, migration, labor law, and access to justice. In addition to authoring numerous amicus briefs addressing international law in federal court litigation, she was the lead author of an in depth report, “Migrant Workers’ Access to Justice at Home: Nepal” (June 2014), and co-author of “Migrant Workers’ Access to Justice at Home: Indonesia” (October 2013), both published as part of the Open Society Foundations’ Migrant Workers’ Access to Justice Series. Other recent scholarship includes: “Finding the Pearls When the World Is Your Oyster: Case and Project Selection in Clinic Design,” (Drexel Law Review, 2013); “Redefining Human Rights Lawyering Through the Lens of Critical Theory: Lessons for Pedagogy and Practice,” (Georgetown Journal of Poverty Law & Policy, 2011) (co-author).

Ms. Coatsworth is a partner at Margolis Edelstein. She has litigated hundreds of motor vehicle, dealer fraud and lemon law cases from both the plaintiff and defense sides. Additionally, she concentrates her practice in the defense of professionals such as realtors, home inspectors, accountants and physicians. She also has extensive experience with premises liability and product liability and has handled employment and construction work and several fraternity cases. Ms. Coatsworth has defended dozens of car dealerships and real estate sales people for claims of breach of contract and fraud and violations of various fraud-related statutes such as the Unfair Trade Practices Act, the Magnuson Moss Warranty Improvement Act, the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Lemon Laws, the New Vehicle Damage Disclosure Act, the Automotive Industry Trade Practices Act, the Real Estate Sellers Disclosure Law and the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act. Additionally, Ms. Coatsworth specializes in representing Greek letter organizations in all manner of claims including dram shop, hazing, and personal injury. She was selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars from 2011 through 2018 and Super Lawyers in 2021-2025. Ms. Coatsworth currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association as Immediate Past Chancellor, having previously served as Chancellor, Chancellor-Elect, Vice Chancellor, Assistant Treasurer, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Parliamentarian and Elected Member. Additionally, she is a past co-chair of the Women in the Profession Committee, and she is also very active with the State Civil Litigation Section, Women’s Rights Committee, LGBTQ Rights Committee and the Real Property Section. She previously served on the Executive Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of that organization for six years and held the positions of Secretary and Vice Chair of the Division. She also served as a Trustee of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation and a Board Member for Philadelphia VIP. She serves on the Leadership Council of Community Legal Services and the Advisory Board for Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts. In the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Ms. Coatsworth is the Immediate Past Zone One Governor and she co-chairs the Membership Development Committee. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Civil and Equal Rights Committee and Large Firm Management Committee, and she sits on the Executive Counsel of the Civil Litigation Section as a Past Chair and the Women in the Profession Commission’s Executive Council as Co-Chair of the 2026 Fall Retreat. She previously served as co-chair of the PBA Women in the Profession Commission and chaired several of its committees including Annual Meeting, Fall Retreat and Awards Committee. She is also a Past Chancellor of the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society, and she serves on several committees of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania including the Community Outreach Committee and the Jury Diversity Task Force.

Mr. Payne is a partner in the litigation department at White and Williams, LLP, in Philadelphia. He is also the immediate past chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee, chair of the Pro Bono Committee and co-chair of the Partners’ Compensation Committee. He primarily focuses his practice in the areas of insurance defense, bad faith, extra-contractual damages, disability and coverage matters. Mr. Payne is a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America by Best Lawyers, and an AV Preeminent peer-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell. He has over 35 years of experience representing insurance carriers and insureds in first- and third-party litigation matters. Mr. Payne has successfully defended wrongful death, extra-contractual damages, product liability, asbestos, toxic tort, environmental, mass tort, commercial auto, construction, insurance coverage, disability, ERISA and general liability cases. Prior to joining White and Williams, LLP, he managed an inhouse litigation office for a major insurance carrier. Mr. Payne is licensed to practice before all state and federal courts in Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He has written and lectured on bad faith, extra-contractual damages, civil litigation and uninsured and underinsured motorist issues. Mr. Payne is a past Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, a past Zone 1 Governor and Minority-At-Large Governor of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, past president of the Board of the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN), past president of the Conference of County Bar Leaders, past president of the Board of the Bethesda Project, a member of the Board of Directors of the Homeless Advocacy Project, a past co-president of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group (PDLG) and a past president of the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel (PADC). He was recognized by the Legal Intelligencer as an “Unsung Hero” for his dedication and service to the pro bono community. Mr. Payne is the recipient of The Honorable William F. Hall Award, the Huey R. Burkett Service Award, the Multicultural Leadership Award, and most recently named Defense Attorney of the Year by the Pennsylvania Defense Institute. He was also named as one of the “Top 60 African American Attorneys in Philadelphia” by the Philadelphia Tribune. Mr. Payne has been selected to City & State Pennsylvania’s 2022 Law Power 100 (39) and City & States Philadelphia’s Power 100 (91) lists. He serves as a Judge Pro Tem for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Mr. Payne received his B.A., cum laude, from Washington and Lee University and his J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law, where he served as the president of the Student Bar Association.