ADL Kicks off its Summer Associate Research Program

  • June 11, 2015

The Anti-Defamation League kicked off its Summer Associate Research Program this past week. Summer associates from premier law firms across the region gathered at Ballard Spahr LLP to learn more about the program, and to hear from an esteemed panel about marriage equality in Pennsylvania.

Mark Aronchick, Dee Spagnuolo, and Ashley Wilson spoke about their firsthand involvement in the fight for marriage equality in Pennsylvania. Mark Aronchick, a named partner of Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, discussed Whitewood v. Wolf, a groundbreaking case that helped overturn Pennsylvania’s Defense of Marriage Act. Dee Spagnuolo, a partner at Ballard Spahr, talked about her experiences as the first LGBT person to get married in Pennsylvania. Ashley Wilson, an associate at Ballard Spahr, told the story of how she and her wife became the first LGBT couple married in Philadelphia, hours after the Pennsylvania Defense of Marriage Act was overturned. The speakers explained the progression of marriage equality in Pennsylvania from both the legal and personal perspectives.

Nancy Baron-Baer, Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League, wrapped up by exhorting the summer associates to remember that cases are about real people, and can have deep impact on their lives.

The Anti-Defamation League’s Summer Associate Research Program offers summer associates at premier law firms across the region the opportunity to complete pro bono legal research on cutting-edge civil rights issues.  In 2015, participating firms include: Ballard Spahr LLP, Blank Rome LLP, Cozen O’Connor, Dechert LLP, Dilworth Paxson LLP, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Fox Rothschild LLP, and Pepper, Hamilton, LLP.

Click here to learn more about ADL’s Summer Associate Research Program. To apply for participation in the program in 2016, please Contact Us.