Issue #9 | September 18, 2023
Be Our Guest
The Philadelphia Room hasn't been this busy in a while! It's just like old times. CLEs, meet and greets, client meetings, panel discussions, celebrations and more have been a regular occurrence at 1835 Market Street.

In March, we finally had a chance to celebrate the career of Rona Rosen and give her the proper sendoff that had been previously postponed. In April, we hosted our good friend, Kenyatta Johnson, in his successful campaign for re-election to the City Council. In May, we welcomed the return of Dean Adler: Unplugged, as he and Brad Krouse discussed the current state of the real estate market. We also hosted our first hybrid CLE lunch and learn! In June, we had the honor of hosting interns from two of our real estate clients for a "lunch and learn" with a select group of our attorneys. We also held our first new hire meet-and-greet for several new hires over the last year. In July, we hosted our good friend Cherelle Parker alongside our friends and clients to show our support for her and her campaign for Philadelphia Mayor. It was an excellent opportunity to speak with her about important topics facing the city and hear more about her vision for Philadelphia.

Stay tuned as we add more opportunities to collaborate and celebrate together! 
Herc Grigos and Ron Patterson with Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson.
Brad Krouse moderated a conversation with Dean Adler for the return of Dean Adler: Unplugged.
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Meet-and-greet new faces: Maria Kargbo, Stasha Sosnowicz, Monica Matias, Mark Berg, Caixia Su and Alyssa Bennet.
Frank Correll and Brad Krouse pose for a photo with alum Rona Rosen.
Klehr attorneys and interns from Keystone Development + Investment and Lubert-Adler Real Estate Funds.
Brad Krouse, Herc Grigos and Ron Patterson with Democratic Mayoral Nominee Cherelle Parker.
REMEMBERING DON HARRISON
With great sadness, we said farewell to one of our founding partners. Donald M. Harrison, 72, lost his battle with lung cancer on June 20, 2023. Read more here.
Alumni Spotlight
Alison Besser Stoekl, Prologis
Director, Legal Counsel - Real Estate
Alison was with the Firm from 2015 to 2021, becoming a partner in 2021. Alison and her family decided to make a cross-country move to Denver, CO, and she accepted an in-house role at Prologis in 2021. In her later years at the Firm, Alison focused her work primarily on real estate finance transactions and large project management. She says her new role at Prologis is much broader – still touching on financing, but also handling acquisitions, dispositions, fund contributions, development work, litigation and environmental diligence and remediation, with environmental being the biggest learning curve. She generally manages Prologis’ Pacific Northwest, Bay Area and Nevada markets, calling it “truly the wild, wild west" in some cases, with very different political climates as opposed to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Prologis still brings in local counsel for the "nitty gritty" land use work that's locale-specific, as Herc Grigos can attest to. He and his team continue to work with Alison and her team on Pennsylvania land use and zoning matters. She keeps in close contact both personally and professionally with Denise Day, Heather Levine and several others. The knowledge she gained at Klehr Harrison (which she still finds herself referring to as "we" and "us" on a few Pennsylvania deals that she’s handling) working on fast-paced transactions has helped her efficiently manage internal and external stakeholders in her current role. 
 
Although she started with Prologis in October 2021, she didn't officially make it to Colorado until June 2022, thanks to challenging housing and childcare markets. However, she notes her family loves Denver and is enjoying being active outdoors. She says she “was not running away from anything in Philly, but rather toward something new.” She says she sometimes misses Philly and will always have a special place in her heart for the City of Brotherly Love. But the weather in Colorado wins.
 
She is very appreciative of how folks at Klehr Harrison continue to have her back and have been willing to help "both personally and professionally" when needed. Fun Fact: She stopped by the office over the summer with her now two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Stella, who was showing Jonathan Maslow her ability to take her shoes off and put them back on! She enjoyed seeing everyone and felt nothing but good vibes during her visit. We all wish her the best and as Denise always says, “She can come back whenever she wants.”

Interested in being featured in our Alumni Spotlight? Send an email to [email protected].
MEET OUR 2023 DIVERSITY FELLOWS
After a very competitive selection process during which the DEI Committee received and evaluated approximately forty applications from very well-qualified candidates, the Firm selected two law students to participate in our second annual DEI Fellowship Program. Mariatu (Maria) Kargbo and Shizhe Hu joined us in June to start their fellowship, rotating through departments at the Firm.

Maria is a 2L at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Before law school, she worked at Morgan Lewis as a Conflicts Analyst for a couple of years. Maria immigrated to the United States from Sierra Leone and is committed to returning to Philadelphia to put down roots after she finishes law school in Ohio.

Shizhe is a 2L at Boston University School of Law. Shizhe immigrated to the United States from China and founded the Chinese Law Association at Boston Law. He previously completed an externship with a private equity firm in Boston and has developed an interest in fund formation.  

While the in-person internship portion of the fellowship program has concluded, we will continue to remain in touch with them both and look forward to providing more education opportunities for them.
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Do you know an attorney who would be a perfect fit with Klehr Harrison? We are always looking for great candidates to join the Klehr family. We are committed to attracting top talent to the Firm and providing opportunities for growth and development.
 
Currently available positions include:



Interested candidates should submit their resume and a cover letter to the Firm’s Hiring Partner, Douglas F. Schleicher, or send them by mail to 1835 Market Street, Suite 1400, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
We are officially back in person with hybrid CLEs! You can now choose to join us in person (free lunch!) or online via Zoom. That's right. We can once again call them lunch and learns! Just indicate that you wish to attend in person when registering for the CLE. Don't worry. You can still join us online to attend the programs. But we are so excited to present before a live audience again!

Save the dates - registration is coming soon:
10.19.23 - Start-ups, Jason Acevedo
11.8.23 - 1031 Exchanges, Larry Arem
11.14.23 - Commercial Leasing, Lee Sussman & Dan Grabell

DID YOU KNOW…
...The Firm collected 152 backpacks plus several boxes of other school supplies for Achievability's Unity in the Community block party and Backpack Giveaway.
...Chris Leavell argued and received a favorable decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on behalf of our client.
...Glenn Weiner was named a Stand Out Lawyer by Thomson Reuters.
...Mark Berg joined the Firm as the new Chair of the Tax group. 
...Brad Krouse was recognized on the 2023 Law Power 100 list by City & State Pennsylvania. The list recognizes and ranks the most influential figures in the legal community in Pennsylvania. 
...The Education Industry Group and Real Estate & Finance team were both selected to the inaugural Watch List from The Legal Intelligencer.
...Since we last checked in, the Litigation Department has grown with the additions of Caixia Su, Josh Link, Stasha Sosnowicz, and Maria Matias Quinones as associates.
FINDING THE PERFECT MATCH
The Firm's commitment to charitable giving has never been stronger and our attorneys and staff share this value. There are so many worthy causes to choose from that it's hard to know where to begin. Thus, in 2023, the Firm committed $50,000 to match Firm employees’ donations to the charities of their choice!

Follow us on social media and check out the Klehr Match Maker page to learn which organizations we support each month!
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