Marina Kats LAW ’88, LLM ’95 wears many hats: lawyer, business owner, university trustee, and member of the Temple Law Board of Visitors, among several others. She is an extraordinarily busy woman. But for the past few months, her time and attention have been focused on an urgent cause: doing whatever she can to assist Ukrainians who have been displaced by the war. In addition to collecting household supplies for refugees, Kats has been coordinating shelter arrangements for people as they make their way to the western border. Her office is uniquely situated to do so, with attorneys and staff who speak Ukrainian, Georgian, Russian, and Bulgarian, and she considers it a “blessing” to be in a position to help.
“We are working to help as many people as possible in as many ways as we can,” said Kats. “There is a tremendous amount of work to do, but I feel blessed to be able to do it.”
For many throughout the community, Kats’ generosity is itself a blessing, including Temple Law students who have benefited from her support while preparing for the bar exam over the past two years. “Marina has been a champion for Temple Law School in so many ways,” said interim Dean Rachel Rebouché. “No matter how successful she’s been, or what other commitments she has, Marina always makes time to support our students and the law school.”
That success, built from the ground up, has garnered Kats accolades throughout the community. After immigrating to Philadelphia from Kiev, Ukraine, she put herself through business school and law school, launched her own very successful firm, and became the first Ukrainian-born candidate and immigrant from the former Soviet Union to run for U.S. Congress. She has been recognized as Woman of the Year and Super Lawyer by Philadelphia Magazine and has been inducted into the Temple University League for Entrepreneurial Women’s Hall of Fame, among other honors.
For Kats, success as a lawyer and service as a leader are derived from the same source: a commitment to making the world a fairer place for those within her reach – and that reach extends around the globe.
If you would like to help with the Ukrainian relief work being done by Ms. Kats and her colleagues, please contact her office at (215) 396-9001.