Philadelphia Legal Assistance and Community Legal Services Welcome New Board Members
Philadelphia Legal Assistance (PLA) and Community Legal Services are thrilled to welcome three new members to our overlapping Boards of Directors.
Diana Cortes, a partner at Morgan Lewis, is a longtime trial lawyer and former Philadelphia city solicitor/general counsel. Diana represents clients in crisis and complex litigation matters, including class actions and large group litigation. With experience as a former prosecutor, Diana also handles criminal investigations and has conducted internal investigations and counseled clients responding to federal criminal investigations, ethics inquiries, and high-profile media/press inquiries.
Diana was appointed Philadelphia city solicitor in December 2020—the first Latina to serve in the role. As Philadelphia’s chief legal officer, she was a member of the Mayor’s Cabinet and managed one of the largest municipal law practices in the United States, covering litigation, corporate, real estate, tax, regulatory, legislative, and privacy matters. She directed the legal strategy for the Mayor, City Council, and all city departments and agencies responsible for public safety, utilities, public property, airports, information security, sustainability, and municipal finance. She also led the legal and client strategy to initiate all affirmative litigation to advance the city’s policy and financial interests, including those related to opioid recovery, gun violence, and environmental justice.
Fluent in Spanish, Diana is a member of Philadelphia’s Hispanic Bar Association and the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group.
George A. Donnelly, a trial attorney at Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock Dodig, LLP represents individuals and families in all manner of litigation involving catastrophic personal injury, civil rights cases, consumer class action cases, whistleblower claims and qui tam lawsuits under the False Claims Act.
Before joining Feldman Shepherd, George served as Chief of Staff for Pennsylvania State Senator Nikil Saval. George’s extensive accomplishments in that role included: securing more than $100 million in competitive grants for the First District for public interest projects; leading the team that created the first-in-the-nation Whole Home Repairs program, funded at an initial $125 million, to offer income-eligible homeowners funds for critical home repairs; and providing constituent services to thousands of Philadelphians. Previously, George served as an attorney at the Public Interest Law Center (PILC), where he was a forceful advocate on tenant issues.
George has held leadership roles with the Philadelphia Bar Association on its Board of Governors, as chair of its Public Interest Section, and as a member of its Commission on
Judicial Selection and Retention. He presently serves on the Board of Port Wardens of the Independence Seaport Museum.
Josie B. H. Pickens is the Interim Associate Dean for Equity & Inclusion at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Josie is the former Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for the City of Philadelphia. In her work for the City over the past two and a half years, Josie provided direction, guidance, and advice to the Mayor and City departments and agencies on improving and strengthening inclusion efforts throughout City government. She managed a team of professionals in support of this work. She also provided strategic direction and supervision to the City’s Office of LGBT Affairs, the Office for People with Disabilities, and the Office of Economic Opportunity.
Prior to her work for the City, Josie served as Supervising Attorney and Co-Director of the Energy Unit at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, spearheading advocacy efforts to improve energy affordability and equitable access to utility customer assistance programs. As an attorney she represented hundreds of Philadelphia consumers and several community organizations in a wide range of legal disputes.
Josie has extensive experience designing and facilitating DEI coaching and training, as well as a particular passion for attorney skill building and professional development. She is a past recipient of the Independence Foundation’s Public Interest Law Fellowship.