Brenda Harkavy
Phone
215-399-9255Fax
215-241-8700- Boarding School Abuse Cases
- Bullying & Hazing Cases
- Civil Rights
- Clergy Abuse Cases
- Personal Injury
- School Abuse Cases
- Sexual Assault
- Shooting, Homicide & Assault Cases
- Victims of Crime
- Victims of Human Trafficking Cases
- Victims of Online Sex Crimes
Memberships
- American Association for Justice
- National Crime Victim Bar Association
- Philadelphia Bar Association
- Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
- Pennsylvania Association for Justice
- New York State Trial Lawyers Association
- National Crime Victims Bar Association
- New Jersey State Bar Association
Education
- Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, 2011 American University Washington College of Law
- Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, 2006, University of Pennsylvania
Licensure
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Maryland
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court, New Jersey
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, New Jersey
About Brenda
Brenda Harkavy, Esq. is a trial lawyer and member of the crime victim team at Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan. She is a fearless litigator, advocate and expert, who has devoted her career to pursuing justice on behalf of survivors of physical and sexual abuse, child abuse and exploitation, image-based sexual abuse, human trafficking, gender-based discrimination and harassment, and human rights violations.
Brenda has represented the interests of countless survivors, against powerful institutions, corporations, and predators. She represented numerous clients sexually abused by former University of Southern California (“USC”) gynecologist, George Tyndall. The case is the largest known sexual abuse case recovery and personal injury settlement against a university in U.S. history. She later counseled in a nationally publicized settlement against a physician who sexually abused countless patients at a renowned medical institution. She argued and won an appellate argument in New York, resulting in a precedent-setting decision that cleared the way for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file suits under a successor liability theory. Brenda serves as an advisor and faculty member at national and statewide conferences, presenting on topics such as sexual abuse litigation and trauma-aware lawyering.
Brenda began her career as a Special Victims Unit prosecutor in Baltimore City. As a prosecutor, she litigated hundreds of sexual assault, child abuse, pornography, intimate partner violence, stalking, human trafficking, and homicide cases, in both state and federal courts. Brenda was known as a “bulldog” in the courtroom, taking cases to trial that others would not, as well as for her “hat-trick” performance where she achieved guilty verdicts in three consecutive jury trials in two weeks. In addition to being a resolute and fierce litigator, she was dedicated to systemic change on behalf of survivors. She spearheaded training for law enforcement, educational institutions, and the public on intimate partner violence, strangulation lethality and the use of experts to explain survivor psychology. Brenda also drafted and testified in support of legislation to enhance survivor rights and protections.
Brenda’s devotion to seeking justice for survivors began in her youth. While a college student at the University of Pennsylvania, Brenda established a fundraiser to advocate for female factory workers in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico from gender-based violence and lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she studied and wrote her thesis on the plight of mothers searching for their kidnapped and “disappeared” children during Argentina’s civil war. After college, Brenda was a case manager providing crisis intervention to adult and juvenile survivors of physical and sexual abuse, as well as human trafficking. During law school, Brenda was elected President of the Women’s Law Association, represented political and gender-based asylum-seekers as a student attorney at the International Human Rights Law Clinic. She also secured an internship where she provided immigration assistance to girls escaping forced marriages and honor killings in their countries of origin.
Brenda was named an ALM 2024 Lawyer on the Fast Track and Super Lawyers Rising Star. In 2024, Pennsylvania and Delaware Super Lawyers Magazine chose to write an article to emphasize her lifelong commitment to advancing and advocating for the rights of abused women and children. As a prosecutor, she was the second prosecutor ever to be awarded the Victoria F. Gelfman Legal Excellence Award, given to only one prosecutor state-wide whose “integrity, ability, community involvement, and commitment to justice exemplify the best of the legal profession.”
Industry Recognition
- Pennsylvania Legal Awards: Lawyers on the Fast Track, 2024
- Pennsylvania and Delaware Super Lawyers Magazine Editorial Selection, 2024
- Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2021-2024
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for Medical Malpractice and Plaintiffs and Personal Injury, 2022 - 2025
- Civil Rights Trial Lawyers Association – Top 10, 2024
- National Women’s Trial Lawyers – Top 25, 2024 - 2025
- National Trial Lawyers: Civil Plaintiff – Top 100, 2024
- Victoria F. Gelfman Legal Excellence Award, Maryland State’s Attorneys’ Association, 2016
Leadership
- Support Center for Child Advocates - Board Member and Volunteer Attorney
- American Association for Justice - Co-Chair Sexual Assault Litigation Group
- Philadelphia Bar Association - Co-Chair, Women’s Rights Committee
- Philadelphia Lawyer - Editorial Board
- Pennsylvania Bar Association - Co-chair, Women in the Profession Legislative Subcommittee, Women in the Profession Mentorship Program
Speaking Engagements
- Publication - Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and the Unresolved Legal Purgatory of Reproductive Rights, Trial Reporter Journal of the Maryland Association for Justice
- Publication - Trauma-Informed Lawyering: It’s Not Just for Criminal or Public Interest Lawyers, The Philadelphia Bar Reporter, May 16, 2024
- Publication - Statistics Speak for Themselves: Sexual Abuse Is Not a New Phenomenon and It Is Due Time Survivors’ Voices Are Heard, PA Justice News, Spring 2024, Vol. XVII
- Presenter - Sexual Abuse Litigation 101, Pennsylvania Association for Justice, Diverse Mentoring Initiative, July 2024
- Presenter - Children In the Courtroom and On the Stand, Faculty Member, Support Center for Child Advocates, Kids in Court Conference, July - September 2024
- Presenter - Sexual Abuse Litigation & Coverage Conference, Perrin Conferences, New York City Bar Association, October 2024
- Presenter - Understanding Why They Can’t Just Leave: A Review of the Law’s Impact on Intimate Partner Violence, Philadelphia Bar Association CLE October 2024
- Speaker Series - Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity, Temple University, October 2024
- Presenter - Empowering Survivors: Sexual Abuse Litigation Panel, Villanova Law Women’s Law Caucus and Students Against Sexual Violence, November 2024
News Featuring Brenda Harkavy
Brenda Harkavy Joins Voice2Change Podcast for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month
Published on: February 13, 2025
Brenda Harkavy is featured on the latest episode of Voice2Change, a podcast series produced by Jane Doe No More, a non-profit organization that empowers survivors of abuse sexual crimes to find their voice, advance their healing, and educate others. The episode highlights February as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Brenda provides insights into warning signs, healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, and efforts to change the stigma survivors face. Listen here.