Morgan Lewis Earns Five Honors for Litigation Excellence, Talent Development, and Leadership in 2026 Pennsylvania Legal Awards
June 12, 2026PHILADELPHIA, June 12, 2026: Morgan Lewis earned five honors in The Legal Intelligencer’s 2026 Pennsylvania Legal Awards, including Litigation Department of the Year – Labor and Employment and the Talent Management Initiative award. Three firm lawyers also received individual recognition.
- Steven R. Wall – Managing Partner of the Year
- Barbara Murphy Melby – Distinguished Leader
- Avryl Klich – Lawyer on the Fast Track
Morgan Lewis was named Litigation Department of the Year – Labor and Employment Law in recognition of the employment litigation practice’s exceptional results throughout 2025. The Legal Intelligencer highlighted the team’s high-profile victory for the University of Pennsylvania in a closely watched discrimination and free speech lawsuit, as well as its successful defense of more class actions arising from Philadelphia’s predictive scheduling law than any other law firm.
Morgan Lewis also received the Talent Management Initiative award for its innovative lawyer-development programs, including eight in-person academies developed entirely in-house. The academies are part of a comprehensive, customized professional-development platform to support lawyers from the summer associate level through senior associate ranks.
Lawyer Honors
- Steve was named Managing Partner of the Year for leading the firm’s continued global expansion, including the opening of its Riyadh office and significant growth in Paris, while championing lawyer well-being and efforts to address substance misuse within the legal profession.
- Barbara received the Distinguished Leader award for her decades-long leadership in technology, digital transformation, and outsourcing, including her role in launching the firm’s data center initiative and helping establish Morgan Lewis as a global leader in complex technology and digital infrastructure projects.
- Avryl was recognized as a Lawyer on the Fast Track for her work advising clients on sophisticated mergers and acquisitions across the life sciences, technology, healthcare, manufacturing, and sports sectors.
Morgan Lewis also was recognized as a finalist for Litigation Department of the Year – General Litigation. In addition, Philadelphia partner Aaron D. Suh, co-leader of the firm’s M&A practice, was a finalist for Dealmaker of the Year.
The Pennsylvania Legal Awards celebrate excellence, innovation, and leadership across the Pennsylvania and Delaware legal communities.