Rue Landau has joined the Philadelphia Bar Association as the director of law and policy.
“Rue brings deep experience in law, public policy and advocacy, and we are excited to have her join our team,” said Harvey Hurdle, executive director of the Philadelphia Bar Assocation. “Her efforts to increase access to justice and equality in the City of Philadelphia align perfectly with our Association’s mission.”
At the Bar Association, Landau’s role will focus on working with Association staff and volunteer leadership on a number of legislative, legal services and public interest efforts.
“The Philadelphia legal community plays a key role in promoting diversity and the elimination of bias and discrimination in the justice system, both in our City and in the Commonwealth as a whole,” Landau said. “The Philadelphia Bar Association has been and will continue to be a hub for those efforts, and I look forward to helping to forward and strengthen that work.”
Landau spent 2020-2021 as the Beck Chair at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, where she taught housing law. She was previously the executive director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR) and the Fair Housing Commission (FHC), appointed by Mayor Michael Nutter in 2008, and again by Mayor Jim Kenney in 2016. Prior to her appointment, Landau was a senior attorney in the Housing Unit at Community Legal Services (CLS) in Philadelphia, where she specialized in landlord-tenant law with a focus on public and subsidized housing.
A graduate of Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, Landau is the recipient of numerous awards for her community leadership and commitment to civil rights, equity, and social justice, including the Equal Justice Award from Community Legal Services (2020), the Cheryl Ingram Advocate for Justice Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association’s LGBT Rights Division (2019), the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award on behalf of the PCHR (2016), the Building Bridges, Opening Doors Award from HIAS PA (2010), and “Lawyer on the Fast Track” by The Legal Intelligencer (2006).
The Philadelphia Bar Association, founded in 1802, is the preeminent metropolitan association of lawyers in the United States. It is a keystone in the ongoing developments of the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania legal systems. With more than 200 years of dedicated service to stand on, the Philadelphia Bar Association is firmly rooted in the Philadelphia community as a steady and reliable bellwether. To learn more about the association, visit here.
