Why Juneteenth Should Matter to Attorneys: A Conversation on Civil Rights and an Examination of Racism in the U.S. Legal System

Date:

6/18/2024 at 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Event Description

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS OUR ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE REGISTRATION FORM (PDF)

Juneteenth is not only a day to celebrate freedom, but also a day to remind attorneys that civil rights must be vigilantly guarded to protect people from government oppression, and to provide a remedy for the injustice caused by slavery, abuse of power, and racism. During a spirited discussion, we will explore the complex legal and political landscapes that have led civil rights cases around the nation to become high profile. This program aims to inspire attorneys to continue to advocate to promote and protect our civil rights.

CREDIT(S):

1.0 SUBSTANTIVE CREDIT

SPEAKERS:

Devon M. Jacob, Esquire, Jacob Litigation--A Civil Rights Law Firm

Devon M. Jacob prosecutes many of the nation’s highest profile civil rights cases. Mr. Jacob is co-counsel with Attorney Benjamin L. Crump, of Ben Crump Law, representing, among others, the families of George Floyd, Hunter Brittain, Pamela Turner, Christian Hall, and Emantic “EJ” Bradford.

Mr. Jacob has more than 10 years of experience in emergency services; having served as a 911 dispatcher, firefighter and police officer. Mr. Jacob graduated Magna Cum Laude from Widener University Commonwealth Law School, located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After passing the Pennsylvania Bar Exam, he served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Attorney General, where he defended the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections in civil rights matters. After a few years, Mr. Jacob went into private practice with an insurance defense law firm where he represented public entities in civil rights matters.

After spending 10 years with the defense bar, Mr. Jacob joined a private law firm located in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, where he began to build a plaintiff’s civil rights practice. In 2013, Mr. Jacob opened his own law firm – Jacob Litigation – where for over 10 years, he has represented plaintiffs nationally in civil rights matters.

Mr. Jacob’s legal practice is focused on law enforcement, corrections, and prosecutorial misconduct. This includes but is not limited to false arrests, excessive deadly and non-deadly force; in-custody deaths including suicide and inmate-on-inmate homicide; unlawful incarceration; and malicious prosecution. In 2022, Mr. Jacob was added to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list, identifying him as one of the nation’s top civil rights lawyers. In 2021, he received the Leonard Weinglass in Defense of Civil Liberties Award from the American Association for Justice (AAJ) for his work in the George Floyd case. In 2018, he was elected Chair of the national Police Misconduct Litigation Group of AAJ, and in 2015, he was elected Chair of the national Civil Rights Section of AAJ. On numerous occasions, Mr. Jacob has been a guest on Court TV.

Mr. Jacob is a certified federal mediator in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He has successfully represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil rights litigation and at mediation. Mr. Jacob’s litigation, mediation, law enforcement, government, and insurance defense industry experience, provides him with the skills and credibility necessary to navigate a complex legal and political landscape to obtain just results for his clients.

Bernard Ilkhanoff

Bernard Ilkhanoff, Esquire, Ilkhanoff & Silverstein

Bernard Ilkhanoff graduated from Frostburg State University with a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish (double major). Upon graduation, Mr. Ilkhanoff worked for several years for a major Washington, DC law firm as a Legal Assistant concentrating in corporate-based Immigration Law. His experience as a Legal Assistant led him to further his legal education at Temple University School of Law where Mr. Ilkhanoff participated in Temple’s nationally renowned Trial Advocacy Program and served as Associate Editor of the Temple University International & Comparative Law Journal.

While at Temple Law School, Mr. Ilkhanoff completed summer internships as a law clerk with the Honorable Herbert F. Murray, Senior Judge, United States District Court for the District of Maryland and as a summer associate with Bethlehem Steel Corporation’s Law Department. In both assignments, Mr. Ilkhanoff honed his legal research and writing skills which are critical to the practice of law.

Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Ilkhanoff was appointed as an Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Baltimore’s Law Department. Mr. Ilkhanoff appeared in both state and federal trial and appellate courts where he established a winning record. Several of Mr. Ilkhanoff’s cases have been reported in the Maryland appellate courts.

Pursuing a life-long dream of owning his own law firm, Mr. Ilkhanoff and his wife, Paula S. Silverstein, formed Ilkhanoff & Silverstein, PC in March of 1999 and have enjoyed private practice together ever since. Since then, Mr. Ilkhanoff immersed himself in learning different areas of law to support his general law practice to include criminal defense, personal injury, and domestic law, to name a few, in both Pennsylvania and Maryland. Mr. Ilkhanoff has been recognized as a “Rising Star” in litigation through Super Lawyers and won the 2011 Jeremiah Sullivan Black Barrister Award. He also was selected as a Susquehanna Valley Select Lawyer for 2014 and 2015 in the field of Criminal Law.

In addition to his busy practice, Mr. Ilkhanoff has served non-profit organizations such as his church, youth soccer programs, and various civic groups like Rotary. Mr. Ilkhanoff has served in various leadership roles in the York County Bar Association to include President in 2016. Currently, he is the President of the Lancaster Bar Association and President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Conference of County Bar Leaders. Mr. Ilkhanoff has served as a delegate to the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s House of Delegates for nearly a decade. Mr. Ilkhanoff is a proud member of the Pennsylvania and Maryland Associations for Justice (formerly known as Trial Lawyers Associations) and the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

LOCATION||TIME:

Lancaster Bar Association

28 East Orange Street

Lancaster, PA 17602

CLE: 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Reception: 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

PRICING:

LBA Attorney (with credit) - $40.00

LBA Attorney (without credit) - $28.00

LBA Attorney + Paralegal - $65.00

LBA Member Paralegal/Legal Assistant - $30.00

Non-Member (with credit) - $60.50

Non-Member (Attorney, Paralegal, or Legal Assistant without credit) - $48.00