“Predatory lending” has become a well-known term thanks in part to this year’s Mary Philbrook honoree. Irv Ackelsberg’s early work to identify the issue, bring it to public attention, and get courts and policymakers to address it, came out of decades of ground-level client contact in North Philadelphia. There, he brought deep empathy for the struggles of those who came seeking help at Community Legal Services (CLS) of Philadelphia. He was constantly on the lookout for the newest consumer scams and thinking of legal strategies, often inventive and novel, to attack them in a way to change systems.
Of his early start in legal services just after the Vietnam War, Ackelsberg said, “CLS was still young then. There were a few lawyers and paralegals who seemed to know what they were doing. But we were largely working off the seat of our pants, trying to figure out ways to help the people lining up every day, whose benefit checks had just been cut off; whose houses were in foreclosure; whose kids had been taken because they had no heat in their home.”
Over the last three decades, Ackelsberg has represented homeowner victims of mortgage fraud, student victims of fraudulent trade schools, low-wage workers harmed by abusive employment background screening, and community groups battling blight and gentrification. His distinguished career in public interest law includes work as a partner at Langer Grogan & Diver and special counsel to the Pennsylvania Attorney General in addition to his service as a board member of Philadelphia Interfaith, the largest interfaith social justice organization in Pennsylvania.
Ackelsberg ’76 was honored for his lifetime of public interest work at the 39th annual Mary Philbrook Celebration on October 30 at the Rutgers University-Camden Campus Center. Ten current students and two alumni were also recognized as exemplary members of their respective classes for their pro bono and public interest contributions. Nearly 150 people attended this year’s event.
Addressing an audience of students, faculty, staff, alumni and other luminaries of the legal services community, Ackelsberg suggested that law schools should offer “a seminar on private equity – first how it works, because you shouldn’t have to go to business school to learn the basics of structured finance-- and second, thinking through liability theories to address not only its rapacious destruction of critical societal functions, like nursing homes and emergency rooms, but its financial support for so-called innovation in developing new ways to extract income and wealth from struggling low and moderate income families.” He also noted that law students should learn about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and critical race theory, and about, “the trade associations that are killing the structures and the legal doctrines underpinning justice: the Federalist Society, the Chamber of Commerce – and strategies for organizing the long fight back.”
The awards ceremony capped off a week of student-led events marking the annual Philbrook Week. Spearheaded by Rutgers Law Camden’s Association for Public Interest Law (APIL) and Women’s Law Caucus (WLC), students held a donation drive for the Anna Sample House which yielded several bins of personal hygiene items; a panel discussion on empowering consumers; a service project at St. Joseph’s Carpenter Society; and a Lunch and Learn with Ackelsberg.
Jill Friedman, associate dean of Rutgers Law School’s Pro Bono and Public Interest Program, said, “We were delighted to be able to honor Irv, such a distinguished and inspiring alumnus of Rutgers Law School, and truly an exemplar for fighting tenaciously, courageously and respectfully on behalf of people who have been marginalized and victimized by systemic oppression and greed. We also all felt privileged to absorb Irv’s obvious and poignant appreciation for his beautiful family -- and his reminder to students about what’s most important in life.”
The celebration is held in honor of Mary Philbrook's life, legacy, and impact. Philbrook was a prominent leader in the campaign for women's suffrage and the Equal Rights Amendment as well as the first woman admitted to the New Jersey Bar. She was instrumental in the formation of New Jersey's first statewide legal aid society and the adoption of the equal rights provision in the 1947 New Jersey state constitution. She also worked in the settlement houses of slums, educated immigrants, organized workers, and attempted to reform prison and the juvenile justice system.
The celebration was co-sponsored by the Rutgers Law School Camden Alumni Association, Association for Public Interest Law, Women’s Law Caucus, the Social Justice Scholars, Rutgers Law School, and the Camden County Bar Foundation.
Associate Professor and Philbrook Celebration Founder Ann Freedman closed out the ceremony.
Student Honorees
From left to right: Kate Doyle ’25, David Freckleton ’25, Kayalyn Kibbe ’25, Christina Ramelli ’25, Nicholas Gangemi ’23, Nayomi Torres-Velez ’24, Jenna Centofanti ’25, Kate Isidro ’25, Jasmyn Montgomery ’25, Paige Kaercher ’25, Ren Ramos ’25, Deidra Hopkins ’25 (not pictured)
Click here to view the Philbrook 2024 photo album
Click here to learn more about the Mary Philbrook Public Interest Awards