{{Short description|Non-profit corporation in Pennsylvania}} {{Multiple issues|section=| {{Update|inaccurate=yes|date=September 2025}} {{More citations needed|date=September 2025}} }} {{Infobox law firm | name = Defender Association of Philadelphia | logo = | image_size = | alt = | headquarters = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | num_offices = 1 | num_partners = <!-- total partners, for partnership-based firms --> | num_attorneys = <!-- or | num_lawyers = --> | num_employees = <!-- Total employees, including attorneys and staff --> | practice_areas = Adult and juvenile state and civil court hearings, criminal mental health hearings, and child advocates for dependent and neglected children | key_people = {{ubl| * Paul J. Hetznecker, Esq., President * Catherine M. Recker, Esq., Vice President }} | date_founded = {{start date|1934}} | company_type = Nonprofit corporation | traded_as = <!-- e.g., {{LSE|DWF}} --> | dissolved = <!-- use {{end date|YYYY|MM|DD}} and reason the company dissolved, e.g., merger or bankruptcy --> | website = {{URL|https://phillydefenders.org/}} }}
'''Defender Association of Philadelphia''', founded in 1936, is a non-profit corporation, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that provides defense on a court-appointed basis for criminal and delinquency cases in which the defendants and respondents are indigent adults and juveniles.
It operates as a 501(c)(3) Public Charity. In 2023, it claimed $83,916,027 in revenue and $56,503,891 in total assets.<ref>{{cite web |title=Defender Association of Philadelphia |url=https://app.candid.org/profile/7100529/defender-association-of-philadelphia-23-1445669 |website=candid.org |publisher=Candid. |access-date=23 March 2026}}</ref>
== History == In 1990, the association appointed the first woman as chief in 56 years.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kennedy |first1=Grace |title=WLJ Interview - Ellen T. Greenlee |journal=Women Lawyers Journal |date=1995 |volume=82 |pages=17 |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/wolj82&div=8&id=&page= |access-date=23 September 2025}}</ref><ref name="tulsky">{{cite web|last1=Tulsky|first1=Fredric|title=Defender Association Appoints First Woman Chief In 56 Years|url=http://articles.philly.com/1990-10-31/news/25891092_1_defender-association-chairman-appointments|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018035533/http://articles.philly.com/1990-10-31/news/25891092_1_defender-association-chairman-appointments|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 18, 2015|publisher=Philly.com|accessdate=8 September 2016}}</ref> She retired in 2014.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Writer |first1=Chris Mondics, Inquirer Staff |title=Greenlee, chief of Defender Association, to retire in March |url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/business/20141210_Greenlee__chief_of_Defender_Association__to_retire_in_March.html |access-date=23 September 2025 |work=Inquirer.com |date=9 December 2014 |language=en}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
In October 2001, the firm moved Comcast Center (Philadelphia) at 17th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Holcomb | first=Henry J. | date=October 25, 2001 | title=Philadelphia's Public Defenders Get New Home; Site Free for Development | journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer }}</ref> In 2015, Keir Bradford-Grey become head of the Association.<ref name="bey">{{cite web|last1=McCrystal|first1=Laura|title=New chief of Defender Association of Philadelphia known for taking different approach|url=http://articles.philly.com/2015-08-11/news/65419437_1_federal-public-defender-defender-association-bradford-grey|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910150807/http://articles.philly.com/2015-08-11/news/65419437_1_federal-public-defender-defender-association-bradford-grey|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 10, 2015|publisher=philly.com|accessdate=8 September 2016}}</ref>
== Notable people == *C. Darnell Jones II, federal judge *Joseline Peña-Melnyk, politician<ref>{{cite web |title=Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk, Maryland State Delegate |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/msa14629.html |website=Maryland Manual On-Line |publisher=Maryland State Archives |access-date=December 19, 2025}}</ref> *Abbe Smith, law professor *Gregory M. Sleet, federal judge *Luis Felipe Restrepo, federal judge *Benjamin H. Read, politician
== Scholarship == * [https://web.archive.org/web/20190427080120/https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6080&context=penn_law_review |Client Service in a Defender Organization: The Philadelphia Experience] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20141008095547/http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7053&context=penn_law_review |egal Aid to Indigent Criminal Defendants in Philadelphia and New Jersey]
== References == {{Reflist}}
Category:Criminal defense organizations Category:Legal aid in the United States Category:Organizations established in 1934 Category:Government of Philadelphia Category:Crime in Philadelphia Category:Organizations based in Philadelphia