President's Letter

Dear Friends of the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania,

I am writing this letter to express my gratitude and appreciation to everyone who supported the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania during 2015. I would also like to share our collective accomplishments as they emphasize the value of our organization and the need for us to continue to remain engaged in the Latino/a community.

During 2015, we witnessed the accomplishments of several of our local law students, general members and board members in the advancement of their legal careers. We built life-long relationships that will help us grow our organization and create Latino/a leaders in the legal profession. We grew the endowment of the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania Legal Education Fund  (“Legal Education Fund”) and strengthened the Latino/a legal pipeline with our mentorship program for a junior high school student and a college student. We joined in the achievements of, and learned from, trailblazers in our community.

I would like to acknowledge a few key partners and supporters who contributed to the success of our organization in 2015. My firm, Pepper Hamilton LLP has provided tremendous support throughout the year and without them we would not have had the same level of impact on our community. Ballard Spahr LLP has been a trusted and meaningful partner to us and the Legal Education Fund over the years; they have showed a true commitment to diversity and the Latino/a legal community. All but one of our events were free for members because of the generosity and dedication of sponsors such as the Hispanic National Bar Association, Duffy + Partners, Kline & Specter, PNC Bank, Pepper Hamilton, Ballard Spahr and US Legal Support. In addition, we received record support this year at the Legal Education Fund’s Annual Scholarship Dinner from the sponsors listed above as well as PECO/Exelon, DuPont, Morgan Lewis, Fox Rothschild LLP, Morris James LLP, Comcast, the Philadelphia Bar Association, Messa & Associates, P.C., Kleinbard LLC, Trial Lawyers Association, Federal Practice Group, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, P.C., Friends of Farmworkers, Kelly & Partners, Pepsi and the Law Offices of Mike LiPuma.  Thanks to their commitment, we became a stronger organization and are in a position to build upon these successes in 2016 and beyond.

Yet, we need to strive for more. As I did in early 2015, I am again challenging each of you to reach out and lend a helping hand to someone you know, someone a friend or family member knows or even a stranger.  The more lives we can touch the better. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and the best of wishes to you and your families in 2016.

Gratefully yours,

Alex Gonzalez
President