In 2008, in association with Temple University and the Philadelphia Bar Association, PDLG presented a symposium on the Norris Law Firm and the Liacouras Committee at the African American History Museum.
The firm of Norris, Schmidt Green Harris Higginbotham and Brown is widely seen as the first African-American law firm in Philadelphia. Among its many accomplishments, it led efforts and partnered with others to increase the number of African-American lawyers in Philadelphia by advocating for the reform of the Pennsylvania Bar examination process.
In response, the Philadelphia Bar Association sponsored a special committee chaired by Peter Liacouras, the former President of Temple University and Dean of its law school. After implementation of requested changes, the number of African-American lawyers admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar increased dramatically.
At the symposium, the history of these events was told through the recollections of a panel of witnesses to and participants in these historic events.