HARRISBURG (Oct. 13, 2020) — Lisa R. Jacobs of DLA Piper LLP in Philadelphia is the recipient of the ninth annual Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) W. Edward Sell Business Lawyer Award, which will be presented virtually at the 2020 Business Law Institute, Nov. 17-18.
The late W. Edward Sell, the award’s namesake, was a driving force behind the enactment of business corporation law in Pennsylvania. Sell served as chair of the Title 15 Task Force of the PBA Corporation, Banking and Business Law Section. From 1966 to 1977, he served as dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he was later appointed Distinguished Service Professor of Law.
Presented by the PBA Business Law Section, the W. Edward Sell Business Lawyer Award honors the contributions to the practice of business law at the highest level, either through the practice of law or through teaching. Recipients must have contributed to the statutory development of business law in Pennsylvania and to the PBA by working in leadership roles in the Business Law Section.
A partner at her firm, Jacobs represents clients in domestic and international transactional matters, including complex corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, institutional and private equity financing, private placements and structuring and governance issues with a particular emphasis on the food and beverage and health care industries.
Jacobs is a commissioner of the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), serving on several drafting committees, including the Harmonized Business Organizations Acts as chair of the newly-formed drafting committee to update those acts, the Limited Liability Company Protected Series Act, the Employee and Student Online Privacy Protection Act and the Canadian Money Judgments Registration Act as chair. She also is a member of the ULC Scope and Program Committee, a ULC representative and chair of the ULC-ABA Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Unincorporated Organization Acts and chair of the ULC Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Active in the legal community, Jacobs is a council member of the PBA Business Law Section and co-chair of its Title 15 Drafting Committee. She was a member of the PBA Task Force on the Uniform Unincorporated Association Acts and the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, working to adopt these ULC acts that became effective in Pa. in 2017 and 1993. At the American Bar Association, Jacobs is chair of its Uniform Law Committee and has been a member of the American Law Institute since 2009. She is a long standing member, and current chair, of the Advisory Committee for the Pennsylvania Department of State Corporations Bureau, and elected to membership in the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers in 2019.
Jacobs authors articles and is a frequent lecturer on business-related issues, including business organizations, corporate finance and transaction structuring. She lectures on international business negotiations at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Civically, she is a member of the board of directors of the Republic First Bancorp and Greater Philadelphia YMCA as vice chair. She provides pro bono representation to The Museum of Contemporary Art — Chicago, the Museum of the American Revolution (Philadelphia) and Liberty Fire Engine Company No. 1 of Spring City, Pa.
Jacobs graduated with honors from the Villanova University School of Law and received a B.S. in Economics, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania - Wharton School.
The PBA Business Law Section consists of approximately 850 licensed Pennsylvania lawyers supporting the advancement of business practice through practical legal education, legislative drafting, and communication and networking within the bar.
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 of legal services; and serve the lawyer members of the state’s largest organized bar association.