Bar Foundation Awards Stipend to Honorable Albert W. Sheppard Fellow

Drexel law student honored for work with internationally-known case management program in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Bar Foundation named Kalani Linnell, a third-year law student, the 2017-18 Honorable Albert W. Sheppard Fellow at a reception hosted by Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP. The Sheppard Family and Dean Daniel Filler of the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline Law, celebrated the achievements of the J.D. Candidate by awarding a stipend to support her work with the internationally-recognized Commerce Case Management Program in Philadelphia.

The Bar Foundation and Philadelphia Bar Association Business Law Section’s Business Litigation Committee established the Honorable Albert W. Sheppard Scholarship Fund in 2013 to assist law students interested in business law and litigation gain research and writing skills. The scholarship fortifies a year-long clerkship position with the Commerce Case Management Program alternating between candidates at Thomas R. Kline School of Law and the Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law.

Linnell appreciates how her role with the Commerce Court has given her more research and editing skills. She says, “The Sheppard Fellowship allows me to continue learning through practical experiences. Every day is different and every assignment challenges me to think deeply about both the substantive legal issues and the procedure in Commerce Court."

The scholarship is in memory of Judge Albert W. Sheppard, Jr., who was devoted to promoting civility, courtesy, and respect in the court system. He served as a Judge on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas from 1983 to 2011. He created the acclaimed Commerce Court Case Management Program which has been modeled by other jurisdictions across the country and around the world.