McKenna elected president of Chesco Bar

Gawthrop Greenwood, PC Partner Patrick M. McKenna has been elected President of the Chester County Bar Association for 2019.

“With more than 1,000 members and growing, it’s an exciting time to lead the Chester County Bar Association, and we are so pleased to have Patrick serving as our President,” says Wendy C. Leeper, Executive Director of the Chester County Bar Association.

McKenna was inducted at CCBA’s ceremony at the historic courthouse in West Chester on Thursday, during a moving “passing of the gavel” ceremony that included 18 past presidents spanning the last 42 years.

“At more than 300 years old, the Chester County Bar Association has a long and well-respected reputation,” says McKenna. “I am humbled by the long line of attorneys who have held this position not only throughout the county but within my own firm.”

Eleven attorneys from Gawthrop Greenwood have served as CCBA President, including Gawthrop Greenwood partners Kevin Holleran (1995) and John Halsted (1976), both of whom were present at the ceremony.

McKenna has been a member of the Chester County Bar Association since 2002 and has also served as Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. In addition, McKenna is a past Chair of the Young Lawyers Division and a past Chair of the Judicial Evaluation Committee.

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2018 and 2019, McKenna is Chair of Gawthrop Greenwood’s Government and Education Law Department, which is ranked nationally for Land Use and Zoning Law. McKenna and his team provide legal counsel to cities, townships, boroughs, police departments, planning commissions, municipal authorities and zoning hearing boards. The firm advocates at government meetings; advises elected boards on governance, open records and other issues; litigates municipal, school, land development and zoning matters through appeal; and drafts legislative and policy documents for municipal governments.

McKenna received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Saint Joseph’s University, and received his law degree, cum laude, from Widener University School of Law in 2001, where he was a Josiah Oliver Wolcott Fellow.