Rule of Law for Judges & Lawyers in the Eastern, Middle, and Western District Courts of Pennsylvania 2026

John Murphy is a judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Before being appointed to the court, Judge Murphy was an IP litigation partner at Baker & Hostetler in Philadelphia, where he focused on patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret and other intellectual property disputes. He teaches patent litigation and strategy as an adjunct professor at Villanova Law School, and formerly taught the same class at Rutgers Law. Judge Murphy is co-author of the fifth edition of Patent Litigation and Strategy (West 2017) along with Federal Circuit Chief Judge Kimberly A. Moore and Emory Law Professor Timothy Holbrook. Judge Murphy also clerked for Chief Judge Moore. He attended Harvard Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology. Before that, he obtained a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Caltech and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University. 

Judge Jennifer Wilson is the newest District Court Judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, commissioned in November 2019. A native of Perry County, Judge Wilson graduated from Susquenita High School in 1993. She stayed in Pennsylvania for college, graduating with honors from Swarthmore College in 1997 with a double major in Economics and Art History. For one year between college and law school, and continuing through her first year of law school, Judge Wilson worked as a paralegal in the appeals bureau of the District Attorney’s Office in New York, New York. She began Brooklyn Law School in the evening program in order to continue working, but then converted to full-time course work for her second and third years, and graduated with highest honors in 2001. Judge Wilson was a co-editor of the Notes and Comments section of the Brooklyn Law Review, and President of the Moot Court Honor Society. Judge Wilson served as a law clerk for the Honorable Jon P. McCalla in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee in Memphis for the 2001-2002 term. She then served as a law clerk for the Honorable Julio M. Fuentes for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Newark, New Jersey, for the 2002-2003 term. In 2003, Judge Wilson began as an associate in the products liability department of Chadbourne & Parke, LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright). In 2005, Judge Wilson began working as a trial attorney for the Department of Justice in the Tax Division, assigned to the Court of Federal Claims section in Washington, D.C. Judge Wilson advanced from fourth to first chair in civil tax shelter suits, resulting in important victories for the United States in three multiple-week trials. In 2009, Judge Wilson joined her father’s general law practice as a partner, where she remained until her appointment to the bench in November 2019. As a partner in Philpott Wilson, LLP, Judge Wilson represented criminal defendants in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit as a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel, as well as civil litigants and criminal defendants in state courts throughout central Pennsylvania. Judge Wilson accepted numerous court appointments in family law matters, serving as Guardian ad Litem for over 100 children in Pennsylvania dependency and custody cases. Judge Wilson was an active member of the Perry County Bar Association, and also developed and taught an advanced legal writing course for second and third year law students. 

The Honorable Kezia O. L. Taylor was appointed as a Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court of the Western District of Pennsylvania in December 2023.
Judge Taylor was born in Toledo, Ohio, is the second youngest of seven children, and was raised in a home influenced by a strong commitment to public service. Growing up, she also lived in Columbus, Georgia, but spent most of her adolescence living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
She received two bachelors of arts degrees from Howard University in Washington, D.C. where she majored in political science and English. In undergrad, she was on the National Dean’s List, Howard University’s Dean’s List, a member of the Golden Key National Honour Society, and received an Academic Trustee Scholarship. During her undergraduate years, she studied at the University of West Indies for a summer. After graduating, she taught eighth grade English in Montgomery County, Maryland. Judge Taylor received her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she was a member of the Law Review, a Moot Court Appellate Competition semi- finalist, and was awarded the Student Honoree Award at the 31st Annual Graduate Honors Convocation.
Following law school graduation, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Mary Jane Bowes of the Pennsylvania Superior Court. Thereafter, she joined Pepper Hamilton LLP as a junior associate and practiced commercial real estate land development and tax assessment litigation representing national retail companies. Following her law firm practice, she focused on civil litigation and employment law, and served as corporate counsel for an entertainment company. Judge Taylor then returned to public service as an Assistant City Solicitor serving the City of Pittsburgh and then joined the Department of Justice’s United States Attorney’s Office as an Assistant United States Attorney representing the United States and federal government agencies. She has also served the Department of Justice as faculty and trial advisor for the trial advocacy program at the National Advocacy Center.
During her time in private practice, Judge Taylor was honored to co-organize the first Pennsylvania Minority Pre-Law Conference at the David Lawrence Convention Center. Judge Taylor received the PUMP and Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40 Under 40 award, and New Pittsburgh Courier Fab 40 award. Judge Taylor also received the IOB Support Award from the Bartko Foundation for her dedication to the Foundation’s goals of raising money to support the self-sufficiency of single minority mothers. Judge Taylor is also honored to have been an ATHENA Young Professional Award Nominee. The award recognized emerging female leaders who demonstrate excellence, creativity, and initiative in their profession.
On a statewide level, for six years, she served the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as a board member and then chair of the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners. Judge Taylor served on the Western District Court of Pennsylvania’s Task Force and Local Procedural Rules Committee. The rules committee was established by the United States Congress when it declared that all courts prescribe rules for the conduct of their business, and pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2073, the Judicial Conference authorizes district court judges to appoint a rules committee consisting of members of the bench and professional bar, and trial and appellate judges.
Judge Taylor is a member of the Wendell G. Freeland Society – Pittsburgh’s only litigation honor society comprised of judges, civil and criminal lawyers, and law students dedicated to the advancement of litigation excellence. She has been an active member of the Allegheny County Bar Association, served as Vice-Chair of the Federal Court Section, served on the Nominating Committee, Community Outreach Ad Hoc Committee, Bench-Bar Conference Committee, and has also been a section member of the Homer S. Brown Division, the Women in the Law Division, the Real Property Section, and the Labor and Employment Section.
Judge Taylor’s former board memberships include the Kelly Strayhorn Theater and NEED Pittsburgh Foundation. She also formerly served on County Executive Richard Fitzgerald’s Financial Sustainability Vision Team, as Co-Vice President of the YWCA’s Inaugural Young Leaders Board, and as an advisory committee member to The Bartko Foundation. Additionally, she served Coro Pittsburgh as a Leadership Development Facilitator where she trained master classroom teachers; served as a 6th Grade Mentor with United Way and The Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania; and as a Coach with Pittsburgh Social Venture Partners to improve the economic viability of non-profits.
In her spare time, Judge Taylor enjoys traveling with her family and friends, hiking, biking, gardening, and upcycling furniture.

Philadelphia lawyer Kathleen D. Wilkinson, a partner at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP, past president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, was the 2021-22 president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Ms. Wilkinson was the 2020-21 president-elect. From April 27 to May 20, 2021, she served as president due to the resignation of the previous president. Her recent efforts to support the organized bar have focused on issues related to attorney wellness and wellbeing in the legal profession as well as issues dealing with the ongoing pandemic. She served on the PBA COVID-19 Task Force that provided timely information to assist lawyers in their practices during the pandemic. She was a member of the Joint Task Force on Continuity of Delivery of Legal Services that issued a comprehensive report offering recommendations such as technology enhancements so that citizens have access to justice during the current pandemic and future emergencies. Ms. Wilkinson is the current co-chair of the Legislative Committee of the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession. She also is a PBA appointed delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates and has served as an ABA delegate for many years. Ms. Wilkinson has represented Philadelphia lawyers on the PBA Board of Governors. She has served in the PBA House of Delegates and has been a member of numerous PBA committees and sections. She is the chair of educational programs for the Federal Practice Committee Executive Council, past co-vice chair of the PBA Planning Committee, a co-chair and past co-vice chair of the PBA Quality of Life/Balance Committee, past co-chair of the Commission on Women in the Profession Quality of Life Committee, past co-chair of the Commission on Women in the Profession and past chair of the PBA Civil Litigation Section. Ms. Wilkinson is a member of other committees, including the Bylaws, Membership Development and Minority Bar committees. She was chair of the PBA Membership Engagement Blue Ribbon Panel on Millennials, Mothers and Minorities. In addition, Ms. Wilkinson served on the board of directors for PBI (Pennsylvania Bar Institute) and was a zone one director for the PABAR-PAC, the PBA’s political action committee, and co-chair of the 2007 PBA Midyear Meeting. She is a Life Fellow of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the PBA, and previously served as the foundation’s zone one director. In 2013, Ms. Wilkinson served as the 86th chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, only the sixth woman to serve in that position in the association’s history. She has filled a variety of leadership roles in the Philadelphia Bar Association since 1998 when she co-chaired the association’s Women in the Profession Committee, and later when she chaired the State Civil Litigation Section in 2005, for which she was one of the founding members in 2004. She was the bar association’s secretary, vice chancellor, chancellor-elect and a member of the bar association’s cabinet. She served on the Board of Governors for a total of 16 years. Ms. Wilkinson was the 2019 chair of the Federal Courts Committee. Ms. Wilkinson received the 2023 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Third Circuit. Ms. Wilkinson was named by named on the Power 100 2022 List of Pennsylvania attorneys by City & State PA, and as a “Power Woman,” and received an award from Main Line Magazine in 2021. Ms. Wilkinson is the recipient of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s 2019 Sandra Day O’Connor Award, which is presented to a woman attorney who has demonstrated superior legal talent, achieved significant legal accomplishments and has furthered the advancement of women in both the profession and the community. In 2019, Ms. Wilkinson received the C. Dale McClain Quality of Life/Balance Award, an annual award presented by the PBA Quality of Life Balance Committee that recognizes the substantial contributions made by Pennsylvania attorneys in identifying issues relevant to balancing the professional and personal lives of their peers, as well as the progress made in assisting attorneys in maintaining and improving their overall quality of life. She received the Gilbert Nurick Award from the PBA Conference of County Bar Leaders in 2014 for outstanding service to local bar associations. She was the recipient of the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession’s Anne X. Alpern Award in 2008 for her demonstrated leadership in the legal profession and professional impact on women in the law. The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly named her “Woman of the Year” in 2007-2008. Ms. Wilkinson has been named as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for many years. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Kean University, which named her “Alumni of the Year” in 2010. She received her juris doctorate from the Villanova University School of Law. In 2013, the Villanova Law Alumni Association named her the recipient of the Gerald Abraham Alumni Association Award for service to the law school. She is also a member of the Alumni Association Board of Advisors of the law school. Ms. Wilkinson was a member of the Executive Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, a division of the ABA, from 2013 to 2016, and remains an active member of the NCBP Program and Diversity Committees. Wilkinson served on the boards of directors for the Philadelphia Bar Foundation, Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program (VIP) and Philadelphia Defender Association. She served on the board of the Forum of Executive Women from July 2014 until June 2016 and was the program chair. She has served on other boards in the community. Ms. Wilkinson is a member of the Chester County Bar Association, Delaware County Bar Association (honorary) and the Montgomery Bar Association. She has been a board member, secretary, and most recently vice-president of programs for the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel in 2020-2021, which presented her with the William J. O’Brien Award for achievements in legal advocacy and improvements in the legal profession in 2016. She is a founding member of Villanova University’s School of Law J. Willard O’Brien Inn of Court, was its first woman president in 2004 and serves as an Honorary Member of the Inn. Ms. Wilkinson received the Inn’s J. Clayton Undercofler III Award for exemplary leadership, integrity and dedication to the rule of law in 2013. Ms. Wilkinson is also a member of the Villanova Law School Alumni Board. A civil litigator with more than 30 years of experience, Ms. Wilkinson is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, defends complex cases involving employment, professional liability, construction, products, toxic tort, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. She also serves as a judge pro tem and special master in state and federal court. Ms. Wilkinson has been a member of Wilson Elser’s Women Attorneys Valued and Empowered (WAVE) initiative that focuses on advancement and well-being of women in the profession.