Dean Gregory N. Mandel and Board Chair Leonard Barrack ’68 welcomed four new members to Temple Law School’s advisory board, known as the Board of Visitors, at its December 2019 meeting. Joining the Board are Doneene K. Damon ’92, Samuel H. Pond ’84, Marcel S. Pratt ’09, and the Hon. L. Felipe Restrepo.

Doneene Damon is the President of Richards Layton & Finger, and also serves as co-chair of the firm’s Business Department and chair of the Corporate Trust and Agency Services Group. She focuses her practice primarily on formation and operational issues relating to Delaware statutory and common law trusts in all types of commercial and business transactions, representing issuers, underwriters, investors, and trustees. Ms. Damon also represents banks and trust companies in connection with their trust and agency services under Delaware and New York law in various commercial transactions, including their roles as trustee, collateral agent, custodian, master servicer, depository agent, and exchange agent.

Samuel Pond is a founding partner of Pond Lehocky, a law firm dedicated to helping injured workers. Mr. Pond’s advocacy for his clients has resulted in some of the largest settlements in Pennsylvania and the nation. Mr. Pond is a member and past president of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association. He is the past chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and past chair of both its Education and Ethics Committee and its Workers’ Compensation Section Executive Committee. Mr. Pond was appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to serve on the Board of Law Examiners. He also served on the Boards of the Pennsylvania Federation of Injured Workers, the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, and the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Charitable Foundation.

Marcel Pratt is the City Solicitor, the City of Philadelphia’s chief legal officer. He was appointed by the Mayor on March 9, 2018, and City Council unanimously confirmed his appointment on April 19, 2018. He is the youngest City Solicitor in Philadelphia’s history. He serves as general counsel to the Mayor and his Administration, City Council, and all City departments, agencies, boards, and commissions. He manages the City’s Law Department, which employs over 215 lawyers and over 100 professional staff. The Law Department’s diverse legal practice covers federal, state, and local agency litigation, commercial and real estate transactions, tax, regulatory law, social services, and legislation. Prior to becoming City Solicitor, Mr. Pratt served as Chair of the Litigation Group at the Law Department since August 2016. In that role, he managed the 70-lawyer Litigation Group, oversaw the City’s most complex legal matters, and served as lead counsel in high-stakes litigation.

Hon. L. Felipe Restrepo is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He began his legal career as a law clerk at the American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project. He has also served as an Assistant Defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia and an Assistant Federal Defender in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. From 1993 to 2006 he was a partner with Philadelphia’s current District Attorney, Larry Krasner, at the law firm of Krasner & Restrepo. From 2006 to 2013, he served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. On November 27, 2012, President Obama nominated Judge Restrepo to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and on November 12, 2014, President Obama nominated Judge Restrepo to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. On January 11, 2016, the United States Senate voted 82–6 in favor of his elevation to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He received his commission on January 13, 2016.

Pictured above, left to right: Hon. L. Felipe Restrepo, Samuel Pond, Dean Gregory Mandel, Marcel Pratt, Doneene Damon.