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<img width="235" height="164" src="/site/files/oldnewsfiles/SmalleyAmmons.jpg" alt="SmalleyAmmons"><p>Jaquelyn and Bernard Smalley and Dean Linda Ammons</p>
<img style="width: 241px; height: 362px;" src="/site/files/oldnewsfiles/SmalleyBernardClass80.jpg" alt="SmalleyBernardClass80"><p>Bernard Smalley '80 with the 31st Annual Justice Michael A. Musmanno Award</p>


</div>On Thursday, September 30th, Philadelphia trial attorneys and dignitaries, including Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, filled the ballroom of the Park Hyatt hotel honored Bernard Smalley, Widener Law class of 1980 and a member of the Widener Law Board of Overseers, with the 31st Annual Justice Michael A. Musmanno Award.<br><br>A partner at Anapol, Schwartz, Weiss, Cohan, Feldman and Smalley P.C., Smalley joins past recipients of the award including such notables as former U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, Ralph Nader, and Morris Dees.<br><br>Smalley is the first African-American ever elected to serve as President of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association. At the dinner he was described as an outstanding leader and dedicated defender of the rights of the innocent and injured.  Gerald A. McHugh, Jr., of the Raynes McCarty Firm presented the award, and said of Smalley, "Bernie, you are our beacon, and we are proud to honor you tonight." <br><br>A graduate of Temple University, Bernard W. Smalley served as the Deputy Court Administrator for Civil Administration for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas before earning his J.D. from Widener Law in 1980. He has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and currently sits on its Board of Governors. He has also served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. He was awarded the Trailblazer Award by the Minority Caucus of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America in 2002 as well as the Pursuit of Justice Award from the American Bar Association Tort and Insurance Practice Section.