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"Justice is the constant and perpetual wish to render to every one his due."
~ Emperor Justinian
 
 
Upcoming Events
2022-2023 Membership Application and Membership Renewal
06-12-2023
June Board Meeting
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07-17-2023
July Board Meeting
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08-21-2023
August Board Meeting
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09-18-2023
September Board Meeting
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10-16-2023
October Board Meeting
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11-20-2023
November Board Meeting
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12-12-2023
"SAVE THE DATE"
The Justinian Christmas Party
Arts Ballroom

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12-18-2023
December Board Meeting
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Justinian Society News
01-01-2022
Justinian Society Event Photos

To see all of the photos from our most recent events, see our Flickr account.

To see photos from the 2022 Justinian Christmas Party click here.

To see photos from the Beccaria Award held on December 13, 2022 given to Nathan J. Andrisani, Esq. for 2022 and Professor Louis M. Natali, Jr. for 2021 click here.

To see photos from the "In Person" Luncheon honoring Philadelphia Bar Chancellor Wesley R. Payne IV, Esq. held on February 17, 2022 click here.

To see photos from the 2021 "In Person" Luncheon honoring Phila Bar Assoc. Chancellor Lauren McKenna, Esquire and their immediate Past Chancellor Hon. A. Michael Snyder (Ret.) click here.

To see photos from the 2020 Beccaria Award held November 17, 2022 given to George Bochetto, Esq. click here.

06-17-2021
2021 First "In Person" Annual Meeting/Election Announcement
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06-29-2020
Virtual Annual Meeting, Election & Scholarship Announcement
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06-10-2020
News from The Justinian Foundation – 2020 Scholarship Recipient
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Members of the Month
June 2022 Justinian Member of the Month
This month, the Justinian Society proudly spotlights the accomplishments of The Honorable Daniel R. Sulman is a judge in the Family Division of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where he served from July of 2016 to January of 2018 and from December of 2019 through the present, following appointments to the bench by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and election in 2021. The Judge is a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, a graduate of Philadelphia public schools and magna cum laude graduate of Temple University. He earned his law degree at Temple University Beasley School of Law. More...
May 2022 Justinian Member of the Month
This month, the Justinian Society proudly spotlights the accomplishments of The Honorable Craig Levin who is a judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. He assumed office on January 3, 2022. His current term ends January 5, 2032. Judge Levin was born and raised in Philadelphia. His life has been shaped by the communities where he grew up: First in West Oak Lane, then moving as a teenager to the Northeast. He attended Philadelphia Public Schools, graduating from Temple University with a B.S. in Finance and earned his Juris Doctorate from the Delaware School of Law at Widener University. He is a proud 'Philly guy' and loves all things 'Philly'. More...
March 2022 Justinian Member of the Month
This month, the Justinian Society proudly spotlights the accomplishments of The Honorable Ann M. Butchart who was elected to a ten-year term as a Trial Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia in 2005 and was retained for a second term in 2015. She has presided in Family Court, Criminal Court and Civil Court. More...
February 2022 Justinian Member of the Month
This month, the Justinian Society proudly spotlights the accomplishments of The Honorable Rosemarie Defino-Nastasi who presides in the Court of Common Pleas Criminal Trial Division in Philadelphia. She began her legal career working as an Assistant Defender for The Defender’s Association of Philadelphia. She then joined her family’s law firm in South Philadelphia working alongside her brothers, Michael and Vincent Defino. Judge Defino-Nastasi has presided in the Criminal Trial Division for over twenty years. More...
January 2022 Justinian Member of the Month
This month, the Justinian Society proudly spotlights the accomplishments of President Judge Jack Anthony Panella of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. He was elected to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania in November 2003 and sworn into office as an appellate judge on January 9, 2004 and retained in 2013. On January 7, 2019, he was elected President Judge. His true devotion and commitment is to assure that the Superior Court does it best to serve the people and the members of the Bar in ways that are efficient and productive, and balances judicial independence with accountability. More...
 
 
  Chancellor Alfano Honored as Distinguished Naturalization Ceremony Guest
11-17-2005

Gaetan J. Alfano, Chancellor of the Justinian Society, served as the Distinguished Guest at the November 17, 2005 Naturalization Ceremonies facilitated by United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania's Judge Cynthia M. Rufe.

More than 100 people from 34 countries were granted citizenship.

Chancellor Alfano's Remarks were as follows:

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.  My name is Gaetan Alfano.  I am an attorney here in Philadelphia.  I also am the Chancellor or head of the Justinian Society of Philadelphia.  This Society, which is named after the Roman Emperor Justinian, was founded over 70  years ago by 15 attorneys of Italian descent.  When it was founded, the Justinian Society served many purposes.  One purpose was to encourage Italian Americans, many of whom were new citizens, to become attorneys.  Another purpose was to help these attorneys to find work in Philadelphia law firms. 

In Philadelphia, seventy years ago, the practice of law was dominated by large, well established firms with very American sounding names like Price, Drinker or Harrison.  Many of the attorneys in these large Philadelphia firms could easily trace their families back to England.  At that time, there were no Italian American attorneys in these law firms.
 
That was seventy years ago.  Today, the Justinian Society has grown from 15 members to over 800 members.  Through a charitable foundation, the Justinians have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide scholarships to help law students.  Many Justinians now are attorneys in Philadelphia's largest, most prestigious law firms.  Others, like me, have started their own law firms.

As you can see, the Law is one area in which Italian Americans have made tremendous progress.  Many of the judges in the district court, the judges who decide cases in this courthouse, including Judge Rufe, are Italian Americans.  The next highest court is the Court of Appeals.  In this region or circuit, the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, Judge Scirica, is Italian American.  In the highest court in America, the United States Supreme Court, one Justice - Justice Scalia - is Italian American while the President has nominated another Italian American - Judge Alito - for an opening on that Court.  The progress that Italian Americans have made in the Law has been matched in other areas, including the Arts, Entertainment, Medicine, Business, and Government.

I hope that each of you, as new citizens, will enjoy the same success that we have enjoyed.  Another fundamental goal of the Justinian Society is to encourage our members, despite our progress, to remain rooted in our common Italian heritage.  To put it another way, we should never forget where we came from. 

So, if I can leave you today with one thought, it is this: please remember and cherish your own heritage.  There is always pressure on a new person in any group to want to fit in, to look like, to sound like, to dress like those who already are here, basically, to conform.  It has happened in my own family.  For example, my last name is ALFANO.  I had relatives who changed their names to ALFORD because they thought it sounded more American.  In America, my grandfather's name was John.  There was only one problem - that wasn't his real name.  He actually had a very common Italian name that was difficult for people in America to pronounce.  But, because he owned a grocery store where he dealt with many people from different backgrounds, he thought that it was easier for his customers just to call him John.  So, for fifty years, he was known as John.

My own first name is Gaetan.  It is spelled GAETAN.  Although I'm very proud of it, my name really isn't a name at all.  In Italian, it is Gaetano, spelled GAETANO but my parents thought that it might make me look and sound more American if they dropped the O at the end of my first name.  Well, if you look at my face and hear me speak, I don't think that it worked too well. 
 
America prides itself on freedom and diversity.  I would encourage you, as American citizens, to exercise your freedom by retaining your ethnic heritage and by weaving your diversity into the fabric of American society.  Your holidays, customs and traditions will become part of the broader culture of the United States.  And, when you leave here today, your name, whether it is Ashok, or Sergei, Mohammed, or Maya, Maria or Han, now is an American name. 

Congratulations!

 
 
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