HARRISBURG (March 5, 2009) - Philadelphia lawyer and retired law professor Carl E. Singley will be honored with the A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award during the 21st Annual Pennsylvania Bar Association Minority Attorney Conference. The conference takes place April 2 and 3 at the Crowne Plaza, Harrisburg.

Singley will receive the award during an April 3 luncheon. The luncheon keynote address will be presented by JoAnne A. Epps, dean, Temple University's James E. Beasley School of Law.

The A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes the accomplishments of a lawyer or judge who has demonstrated dedication to the legal profession and the minority community through civil, community or legal service. Higginbotham, who died in 1998, was a civic leader, author, academic and federal appeals court judge who fought tirelessly against racial discrimination.

Singley has a decades-long affiliation with Temple's law school. In 1968, Singley was admitted to the school as one of the first national scholars in the Council on Legal Education Opportunity program that recruited minority students into law schools. Singley was one of the founders and the first president of the Black Law Students Association at the school. Singley and other members of the association organized a protest demonstration that resulted in the hiring of three African American faculty members and the admission of more than 60 minority law students.

Upon graduation, Singley was appointed director of the law school's minority admissions program. He joined the law school faculty in 1974 and served as chair of the admissions committee. In 1983, he was named the school's dean, becoming the first African American and first Temple graduate to serve in that capacity. Singley retired from the school in 2004 as professor emeritus.

In 1987, Singley established Singley & Associates, which was one of the largest minority-owned law firms in Pennsylvania.

Singley helped write the affirmative action plan for the School District of Philadelphia and assisted in drafting the affirmative action provisions of the enabling legislation for the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

He previously served as chair of the Urban League of Philadelphia and the African American Museum in Philadelphia.

He has authored numerous articles and essays about ethics, affirmative action, leadership and a variety of legal issues.

Singley currently is counsel at WolfBlock and is chair of the firm's Diversity Committee. He also serves as chair of the Mayor's Advisory Commission on Construction Industry Diversity and chair of the Affirmative Action Oversight Committee of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority.

In addition to the luncheon activities honoring Singley and Epps keynote address, the two-day conference, "Minority Lawyers as Community Builders and Social Engineers," offers these programs: "Criminal Defense: Social Engineering for Change," "Immigration in Pennsylvania: The Impact on Our Communities-The Legal Needs for Us to Fill," "Building Your Practice Through Building Your Community" and "Lawyers as Educators of the Community." A networking reception and the presentation of citations to five minority lawyers who have excelled as community builders and social engineers also are included in the conference's programming.

The conference offers up to seven substantive CLE credits.

For more information about the conference and the award presentation, visit the PBA Web site at http://www.pabar.org or contact the PBA Membership Services Center at 800-932-0311.

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access to legal services; and serve the 29,000 lawyers who are members of the association.