DLA Piper Attorneys Earn "Leadership in Law" Awards

18 November 2014- DLA Piper is pleased to announce that Kelly Tubman Hardy, regional office head—Corporate & Finance practice for the firm’s Baltimore office, and James D. Mathias, chair of the Baltimore Litigation practice, have received 2014 “Leadership in Law” awards from The Daily Record.

The “Leadership in Law” award was created in 2001 to draw attention to the many Maryland legal professionals whose dedication to their occupation and their communities deserves particular recognition. Hardy and Mathias were among 26 people who received the award during a ceremony on November 12.

Hardy advises clients on cross-border transactions, including global M&A, restructuring and joint ventures, in established and emerging markets. She regularly volunteers for various pro bono initiatives locally and internationally and was a driving force behind the launch of the firm’s Global Sustainability Initiative, which affirmed the firm’s commitment to reducing its environmental footprint.

She is a board member for The Leadership: A Program of the Greater Baltimore Committee, which brings individuals from business, nonprofits and government together for the purpose of creating breakthrough thinking and synergetic alliances. She also serves as trustee, co-chair of the finance committee and member of the executive committee of Seed School of Baltimore, a public boarding school for disadvantaged youth, and has taught at education-based Latino Outreach, a Spanish-language Saturday school, for six years.

Mathias, who chairs the firm’s Baltimore Litigation practice, is a trial lawyer who was elected in 2013 as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has achieved enormous professional success representing notable firm clients in Baltimore, nationally and globally. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Maryland Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the Judicial Conference of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the American, Maryland and Baltimore City Bar associations.

For many years, he has served as the chair of the Fund for Educational Excellence, a non-profit dedicated to improving Baltimore City public education by working closely with the City Schools and the local and national funding communities. He is the partner chair of DLA Piper’s Baltimore signature pro bono project, “Advancing Education’s Promise,” dedicated to improving the quality of education for children in the many communities the firm serves.