Independence of Pa. Courts Threatened

Deborah Gross, Esq., comes to Pennsylvania for Modern Courts from over 35 years of private legal practice in federal and state courts all over the country concentrating on complex commercial litigation. She was Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association in 2017 and focused her efforts during the city’s extraordinary legal nonprofit community. She spoke out on behalf of the Philadelphia Bar Association on the importance of judicial independence as the cornerstone of democracy and both received a commendation proclamation from the Mayor as a result of the work they did to train lawyers to assist lawful permanent residents in becoming naturalized citizens. Debbie also served as President of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation in 2013 and 2014, and as a Trustee of the Foundation from 2004-2020 and served on the Bar Foundation's Fundraising, Grants, and Finance Committees. She has served on the boards of many organizations such as Drexel's Kline School of Law, the Public Interest Law Center, Philly VIP, Temple Adath Israel of the Main Line, Women's Philanthropy of Jewish Federation. Debbie teaches at the Villanova University School of Law and received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law and her B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Jay Silberblatt, Esq., currently serves as the 128th President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He is a partner with the Pittsburgh law firm of Silberblatt Mermelstein, P.C. He is Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a Civil Trial Advocate. Silberblatt concentrates his practice in civil litigation with a particular emphasis on lawyers’ professional liability matters. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Allegheny County Bar Association, and a Fellow of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County. Silberblatt has served as Chair of both the Civil Litigation Section of the Allegheny County and of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA). He has served on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County and as a Director of the PBA, served as its Zone 12 Governor and is a member of the PBA House of Delegates. He is a current member of council of the PBA Minority Bar Committee, a member of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Continuing Legal Education Board, and a Hearing Committee Member for the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He received his B.A., cum laude, from Allegheny College in 1977 and his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1980.