Amaris Elliott-Engel
The Legal Intelligencer

After Roberta "Bobbie" Pichini became the first woman president of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers earlier this spring, she started work on expanding the academy's cultural exchange programs to other countries.

Pichini, a plaintiffs attorney with Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock & Dodig in Philadelphia, was admitted to the invitation-only group in 1999. The organization aims to promote the rule of law and administration of justice internationally.

In the two years prior to beginning her term as president in April, Pichini served as vice president and president-elect.

Only 500 actively practicing American attorneys are in the group. Invitations are based upon a trial attorney's litigation history, including information from lawyers on the other sides of cases and from judges in front of whom the attorneys have appeared.

"I'm really honored and proud to be selected as president," Pichini said. "The fact that I'm the first woman is a milestone for the organization. I really hope that it will encourage women in that organization and other organizations to get involved."

As Pichini marked the milestone as the first women to lead the academy, she said that the field of law is getting better for female attorneys, especially in the metropolitan areas. But she said that there are still many more advancements to be made because statistics show that women are not reaching equity partnership at the same rate as men and women do not always receive the same quality of legal assignments within firms.

One of the main activities of the organization is for members to host lawyers from China and from Ireland in cultural exchange programs in which the American trial lawyer hosts open their homes and their law offices to a foreign delegate to show them American life and law. The Ireland program brings together barristers from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, Pichini said.

"We have no political agenda nor do we proselytize," Pichini said. "Our mission with exchange programs is to expose people from other countries to our way of doing things and we hope that, by the way we do things and having the opportunity to see the application of the rule of law in the United States, that they can learn from that."

The exchange programs could expand to Mexico, countries in Central America, India or any other nation, Pichini said.

Many of the foreign delegates have been women, Pichini said, which "has been a joy to see and to share with them. All of our delegates, men and women, share with us our dedication to our profession and to our families." Pichini's practice includes medical malpractice, products liability and catastrophic accident cases.

When Pichini hosted a delegate in the past, she said she never knew anyone who loved the Phillie Phanatic more, and the delegate also loved the Constitution Center and "every bit of Philadelphia history."

Delegates travel all over the United States, from Philadelphia to Kansas, Florida to Montana, Pichini said.

Dennis Suplee, of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis in Philadelphia and a recent past president of the academy, said that "it's just hard to do better" than Pichini.

Having a woman lead the organization reflects the value that diversity of any kind, whether of gender, race, religion or disability, brings something different to the table, Suplee said.

"In light of the role women generally are playing in the practice of law I think everybody is delighted to see" Pichini as the first president of the organization, Suplee said. "At the same time, Bobbie didn't need any boost to get the presidency so it's just a perfect situation."