Award for Outstanding Leadership in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to Be Presented to PBA Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section

HARRISBURG (April 28, 2022) — The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section (RPPT) will receive the 2022 Award for Outstanding Leadership in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from the PBA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team. The award will be presented at an awards ceremony during the PBA Annual Meeting, May 11-13 in Hershey.

The PBA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team works collaboratively with PBA leadership, staff and all other PBA-related groups and entities to promote and enhance existing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and to assist with creating new opportunities. The award recognizes a PBA entity for outstanding efforts, contributions or service to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the association’s membership and for demonstrating commitment to and leadership in promoting full and equal participation in the legal profession.

The RPPT was selected for this award because of its extensive work to craft language supporting amendments to Title 68 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes that provide a simple and effective method to discharge, extinguish or void discriminatory, unlawful and restrictive real estate covenants.

Through its efforts, the RPPT has directly encouraged and assisted the Pennsylvania Legislature in identifying, targeting and correcting historically discriminating housing legislation to defend and promote housing diversity. The section’s work directly benefits people of color and other minority communities. Within the PBA, the RPPT has actively engaged with the Minority Bar Committee and other PBA sections and committees to accomplish its goal of furthering awareness of historic latent discriminatory legislation in real estate practices in Pennsylvania. It also has worked to provide practitioners and the community at-large with practical remedies to address such matters.

The RPPT Section was created to study, through its committees, all phases, questions and problems in the fields of law covered by its two divisions: Real Property Law and Probate and Trust Law. It aims to inform PBA members about legal developments within those divisions, and propose and support changes, amendments, modifications and improvements in law relating to real property, decedents’ estates and trusts.

For more information on the PBA Annual Meeting, visit https://www.pabar.org/pdf/2022/AnnualMeeting2022.pdf.

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.