Thorp Reed & Armstrong, LLP (Thorp Reed) is pleased to announce that partner Kimberly Brown has been elected to serve as President of the Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA) for the year beginning July 1, 2009.

Ms. Brown, a member of Thorp Reed’s Commercial and Corporate Litigation practice group and coordinator of the firm’s pro bono program, has been an active member of the ACBA for over 19 years. Her election follows her term as President-Elect of the ACBA during 2008-2009. Ms. Brown has been a member of the ACBA’s Board of Governors since 2003 and has served on the Board of Governors’ ad hoc Institute Committee, ad hoc Judiciary Committee, ad hoc Strategic Planning Committee, ad hoc Public Service Committee, and has chaired the ad hoc Nominating Committee.

The traditional passing of the gavel ceremony that marks the ACBA’s leadership transition occurred during the Association’s Annual Bench-Bar Conference on June 19, 2009.

One of Ms. Brown’s first initiatives will be the opening of the ACBA’s Institute for Gender Equality in the fall.

“It is a privilege and an honor to serve as the new President of the ACBA,” says Ms. Brown. “The ACBA has long set a standard for Bar Associations across the country and stands as a leading organization in its commitment to the elevation of the profession, as well as setting an example with forward-thinking diversity and gender equality initiatives. In addition, the over 50 substantive law committees of the ACBA provide an opportunity for our lawyers to interact and educate each other to improve the substantive knowledge and skills of our members. I look forward to continuing this tradition by championing new initiatives, like the Institute for Gender Equality, which will promote the character and professionalism of the Bar Association membership.”

The ACBA is an organization of legal professionals committed to serving its members by: providing education, advocacy and professional services; promoting equality and diversity among its membership; fostering collegiality; advancing the public image of the profession and the highest standards of professional ethics; supporting and advocating for a fair and effective judicial system that is accessible to every individual regardless of economic status; and exercising leadership on a local, state and national level so as to further these goals.

“Kim is a natural leader and skilled trial attorney who takes the greater good into account at all times,” said Jeff Conn, Managing Partner of Thorp Reed & Armstrong. “Her acumen as an attorney, history of championing the highest standards in our profession, and commitment to the community at-large combine to make her an ideal choice to lead the ACBA.”

An experienced trial lawyer, Ms. Brown specializes in commercial and insurance litigation and the defense of medical device/product liability. She is a member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County and has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, an honor bestowed upon the top five percent of Pennsylvania lawyers.

Ms. Brown has received a number of awards and recognition for her work as an attorney and as a mentor for others in the legal profession. In 2009, she was selected as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (LCA). The LCA is an invitation only trial lawyer honorary society representing less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. LCA Fellows are deemed to be among the best trial lawyers in the American bar, who have exhibited accomplishment in litigation and trial work, and have superior ethical reputations.

In June 2008, Ms. Brown was honored by the Pennsylvania Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession with the Lynette Norton Award. This award recognizes female lawyers who excel in litigation and who have demonstrated leadership in mentoring female attorneys.

In May 2006, Ms. Brown was honored by the Allegheny County Bar Association with The Honorable Carol Los Mansmann Helping Hand Award for her efforts on behalf of women and her work in mentoring young female attorneys.

She is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Defense Research Institute, and the American Arbitration Association’s National Roster of Neutrals, among other professional affiliations. She serves her community through her pro-bono work, oversight of Thorp Reed’s holiday Adopt-A-Child program, work with the Manchester Historic Society, Inc. and service on the United Way Women’s Leadership Council Committee.

A 1989 graduate of Duke University’s School of Law, Ms. Brown also attended the University of Dayton, where she received her B.A. in 1986.

About The Allegheny County Bar Association
Chartered in 1870 and headquartered in downtown Pittsburgh, The Allegheny County Bar Association is a professional organization with more than 6,600 member attorneys, judges, district justices, legal administrators and paralegals.
For more information visit: www.acba.org.

About Thorp Reed & Armstrong
Since 1895, Thorp Reed & Armstrong, LLP, has been a premier Pennsylvania-based law firm, which has grown to include additional offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Princeton, New Jersey, and Wheeling, West Virginia in addition to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Earning the respect, trust and appreciation of clients, peers, and those who live in our communities, Thorp Reed & Armstrong attorneys have gained a reputation as lawyers who exemplify the profession’s best qualities. The firm supports a wide variety of clients’ needs within the practice areas of business law, litigation, labor and commercial and public finance.
For more information on Thorp Reed & Armstrong, call 800-221-7029 or visit www.thorpreed.com.