The Equity Stop

Did You Know?

By Jessica L. Chapman, Esq.

Don’t put away those Christmas decorations just yet! The holiday season is not over. Did you know that in Hispanic culture, a big part of the holidays is celebrating Three Kings Day, also known as the Epiphany? This celebration originates from the Christian tradition of celebrating the day when the three Wise Men or Magi traveled by horse, camel, and elephant to present gifts to baby Jesus. Throughout the years, Three Kings Day has become an integral part of Hispanic culture.

In Puerto Rico, the night of January 5th each year, children go outside and fill a shoe box with grass for the camels, which they place under their beds. While the children sleep, the camels come eat the grass and leave a gift for the children in their shoe box. On January 6th, the children wake up with excitement to see if the camels came by. Later that day, the whole family will go to the town’s grand celebration where three men dressed as the Wise Men – Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar – ride around the streets on horses throwing candies for the children.

I remember waking up on January 6th as a child and checking everywhere to see if it had been my mom who took the grass from the shoe box but I could never find any traces of it. To this day, when I spend this holiday with my mom in Puerto Rico, she makes me cut grass for the camels. Nothing makes you feel young again like cutting grass outside and stuffing it in a shoe box. In the morning, I can’t help trying to find where she put the grass while I slept. I have never been able to find any signs of grass, which can only mean one thing – the camels are real! I love the rich culture I grew up with but what I love most is celebrating with my family and creating memories that will stay with me forever.

PA Engage Day

By The Honorable Carolyn H. Nichols

I was honored to preside in the Youth Mock Court hosted by Community Hero PA for PA Engage Day on Saturday, October 16 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Community Hero PA is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that works extensively with urban youth in Montgomery County and the Philadelphia region emphasizing innovative community-based civic engagement to empower young people to be a positive force for change in their communities and in their individual lives. The children are our future!

Meet the New Team for 2022:

Co-Chairs: Jacqueline M. Reynolds, Esq.

Past President and current member of the Montgomery Bar Association and Trial Lawyers Section. Past Chair and current member of the Women in the Law Committee. Member of New Member Committee.

Jessica L. Chapman, Esq.

Also member of the SIDEBAR Committee

Lucy Qiu, Esq.

Also member of the Elder Law Committee

Vice-Chair: Michelle Dempsey, Esq.

In The Works:

• The Robert E. Slota, Jr. Diversity Internship & Development Program recruitment has begun. Please contact Nancy Walsh at nancy@tbdnowllc.com if you would like to host or sponsor an intern this year. • Next meeting will be in person at the MBA building on Tuesday, February 1, 2022.

Enhancing Lives  Protect Benefits  Providing Peace of Mind

ACT

Ardent Community Trust of Pennsylvania

Attorney Resources Special Needs Trusts

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www.ACTPA.ORG - 610.265.4788

TRUST ISSUES? - CHOOSE ACT PUT ACT’S 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE TO WORK FOR YOU!!

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ACT

Ardent Community Trust of Pennsylvania

1012 W. Ninth Ave., King of Prussia, PA 19406 www.ACTPA.ORG  INFO@ACTPA.ORG

NONPROFIT TRUST ADMINISTRATION SINCE 2001

On October 25, 2021, The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held a training for new Hearing Committee members.

Our very own Jimmy Chong and Lauren Hughes attended the training as new Hearing Committee members. Jessica Chapman also attended this training as Disciplinary Counsel.

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The Equity Stop

Continued from page 29

From 1L to Associate: A Story of Mentorship, Dedication, and Connection

Ivana M. Alexander, Esq.:

I did not grow up wanting to be a lawyer. After I graduated from New York University, I accepted a position as a program director at the Salvation Army. I started an after-school program for low-income children near my birthplace in North Philadelphia. Advocating for my students, their parents, and my community sparked my interest in a career in advocacy. After establishing the after-school program and running it for three years, I decided to pursue law. I applied to Temple University Beasley School of Law and was accepted into the class of 2021.

I enjoyed my first year of law school. I made lifelong friends and gained valuable experiences. After the end of my 1L year I was accepted into the Montgomery Bar Association 1L Diversity Program. This program shaped the beginning of my legal career. I had the opportunity to meet federal judges and network with experienced attorneys. I connected with other diverse students. I experienced the wonderful community that the Montgomery Bar provided. I felt like the attorneys in the program truly wanted me to succeed. I hoped to join the Montgomery Bar one day down the line. Little did I know my hopes would come to fruition sooner than I thought.

The 1L Diversity Program placed me at Kaplin Stewart during my 1L summer. I worked primarily with attorney Pamela Tobin. From the start of my internship, she provided me with meaningful, substantive assignments. I drafted motions for a federal trademark infringement case. I drafted a pre-trial brief for a complex undue influence case. Pam was the greatest supervisor a shy, anxious 1L student could have. She provided me with constructive criticism on my writing and research skills. I developed into a confident legal researcher and writer after my summer at Kaplin Stewart. I continued to develop my writing and research skills over the next two years in internships with the United States Department of Labor, a federal Magistrate Judge, and a large regional insurance defense firm.

More importantly, Pam was invested in my future. She contacted my interviewers during OCI to give me a good reference and gave me invaluable career advice. We remained in touch after my summer internship ended. After I graduated from Temple Law and took the Pennsylvania bar exam, Pam reached out to me about interviewing for an associate position in the commercial litigation department at Kaplin Stewart. I was offered and accepted a position at the firm.

I could not be more appreciative and grateful to work at a firm that values their attorneys. The work is challenging and interesting. I am eager to flourish as an attorney at Kaplin Stewart and as a member of the Montgomery Bar Association. I am so grateful to Nancy Walsh and all the other amazing people at the bar who guided me to where I am standing now.

Pamela M. Tobin, Esq.:

From my perspective, we hit the jackpot when Ivana came to intern at our firm the summer of 2019. Ivana is smart, inquisitive and, well, fun to be around. She can be serious, but she is more often smiling. She was eager to learn the practice of law and she took advantage of every opportunity that was offered to her that summer, whether it was to hear a lecture, attend a deposition or draft a motion. I did advise her to clerk for a judge and to try working for a large firm, all of which she did. When we had an opening, my first thought was of her, and we are so happy she accepted. I feel so fortunate to have met Ivana through the MBA’s 1L program. But for that experience, I do not know whether our paths would have crossed. I am so glad that they did! I look forward to watching Ivana grow as an attorney at our firm. I would encourage all law firms to consider sponsoring a law student through the Bar’s 1L program. It can lead to life-changing and beneficial relationships you otherwise might not have the good fortune to experience!