Heidi G. Crikelair Recognized in City & State PA's Pennsylvania Forty Under 40
Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that partner Heidi G. Crikelair has been recognized in City & State Pennsylvania's Pennsylvania Forty Under 40.
The Pennsylvania Forty Under 40 includes "the rising stars making a difference across the state." The honorees are described as passionate individuals with "strikingly personal motivations for the work they do each day – and the goals they hope to achieve on behalf of their neighbors."
Each honoree is recognized through a profile that shares information about their background, career, and achievements.
To view The Pennsylvania Forty Under 40 list, please click here.
Heidi's profile, as published in City & State Pennsylvania, is copied in full below.
Heidi Crikelair
Partner, Blank Rome
Heidi Crikelair’s first experience with the law made a lasting impression. Her Chester County family hired an attorney to organize legal guardianship for Crikelair’s 18-year-old sister, who was severely brain-injured after being struck by lightning.
“It made me realize that lawyers actually help people,” recalled Crikelair, then 19 and now a partner in the Philadelphia office of Blank Rome. “That having this degree enables you to do things other people can’t do.”
Ever practical, she took the LSAT but decided she’d only go to law school if she got into a top institution. Crikelair did, graduating from NYU and interning at the White House before falling in love with the intellectual variety of litigation.
“You constantly have to learn, to immerse yourself in your client’s world,” explained Crikelair, 34. “If you’ve got a client who makes widgets, you have to know a lot about widgets.”
At Blank Rome, Crikelair was part of the high-profile team that successfully represented Johnson & Johnson in a nationally watched trial over products linked to cancer. She received a Pro Bono Hero award for her work on behalf of Philadelphia families facing eviction, and more recently worked on an asylum application for an Afghan refugee.
“I recognize that when you pass the bar, that comes with privilege,” Crikelair reflected. “It all goes back to that first interaction with a lawyer – someone who came alongside my family in a horrible situation, and was able to help.”