By Sophia Lee
JoAnne A. Epps was an extraordinary leader. We have all been the beneficiaries of her courageous, compassionate, and impactful service whether in the legal profession, at Temple University, in the Greater Philadelphia region or nationally.
JoAnne was also an exceptional co-conspirator. In the classroom, in the profession, and in life, she was more than a casual observer, but rather someone inclined to learn, to engage, and to take action.
When I first met JoAnne, she was Professor Epps, our formidable criminal procedure professor who taught in the Socratic method and whose intellectual precision we admired. In the classroom, she challenged us to think deeply and tested our grasp of the concepts. She walked with us through the legal reasonings and policy rationales. She modeled the kind of attorney we imagined ourselves becoming: learned, trustworthy, and at the ready.
Over the years, JoAnne became a dear friend. We were in the Bad Ass Book Club together where, under cover of meetings ostensibly to discuss the book selection, we shared and strategized on matters of life importance. We tackled challenges, gave and received advice, and celebrated successes regarding career, family, and community. When a concern – professional or personal – was presented or identified, JoAnne would help to analyze, plan, and execute a solution.
Predictably, the inclination was no different where legal education was involved. Temple’s Beasley School of Law adopted a new graduation requirement that, for students matriculating as of August 2021, each had to take (and pass) a course fulfilling a “Bias in the Law” requirement. JoAnne, with Roberta (Bobbi) Liebenberg, another Bad Ass Book Club member, created a new offering to fulfill the requirement, a course entitled, “Gender Equality and Gender Equity in the Legal Profession: Issues and Solutions.” The course was developed to help students examine forms of bias, the difficulties of combatting implicit bias, as well as on methods to interrupt bias. There was a need to be addressed in the legal profession and JoAnne was decidedly part of the solution.
As it turns out, I had been teaching a course at the law school for the last several years entitled, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Legal Profession,” another class that fulfills the “Bias in the Law” requirement. When JoAnne was named Acting President of Temple University, her demanding schedule made it difficult to find time to teach at the same time, and I was asked to fill in for her. Of course, it would be impossible to fill her shoes and, of course, I would teach her course, especially because we had previously conferred about content and had parallel objectives for our classes. It was also helpful that both courses incorporated Bobbi’s research on women in the legal profession into the syllabus.
JoAnne was my co-conspirator in helping to shape the future of the legal profession by engaging and empowering law students, lawyers, and others, to develop fluency in the important principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion as core competencies in the practice of law and the administration of justice. I will always remember JoAnne for her leadership in service to meaningful action and impactful solutions and, in this way, she will always be my co-conspirator in advancing equality and equity in the legal profession.
Sophia Lee is an adjunct professor at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Previously, she was a Litigation Partner and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Blank Rome LLP. Sophia is a trusted advisor and frequent lecturer on matters involving diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and has served as the Diversity Chair for the Philadelphia Bar Association and a Co-President of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group.
