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Wilkinson Receives Pennsylvania Bar Association’s 2026 Civil Litigation Professional Excellence Award
Kathleen Wilkinson was honored with the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s (PBA) 2026 Civil Litigation Professional Excellence Award, presented at the PBA Civil Litigation Section’s Annual Civil Litigation Retreat in State College, Pennsylvania, on April 25, 2026. Past Section Chair Jennifer Coatsworth and the Honorable Stephanie Domitrovich, a senior state trial judge, presented the award.
At the presentation, Past Chair Coatsworth stated that as past president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and past chair of the Civil Litigation Section, Kathleen has long been recognized for her leadership, professionalism, and commitment to the legal profession. As PBA president, she championed attorney wellness and civility, leading the PBA House of Delegates to support a wellness pledge. Kathleen’s nomination highlighted her distinguished service as the PBA's 127th President and the Philadelphia Bar Association’s 86th Chancellor ‒ the sixth woman to hold each office ‒ as well as her continued leadership through committee service, mentoring, and strategic guidance to both organizations.
Throughout her career, Kathleen’s nomination also emphasized that Kathleen has advanced initiatives focused on attorney wellness, civility, diversity and inclusion, leadership development, and the advancement of women in the profession. As Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor, she established the Chancellor Leadership Institute to help young and diverse attorneys develop leadership skills, and she has remained an active contributor to CLE programming and the PBA's Civility Committee. Kathleen’s nomination aptly recognized her as embodying the qualities the Civil Litigation Professional Excellence Award celebrates: excellence in the practice and administration of law, unwavering integrity, the highest ethical standards, and civility and fairness both inside and outside the courtroom.
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