Husband And Wife Lawyers Lead Their Colleagues At The State And City Level

By Pat Loeb

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The new head of the Philadelphia Bar Association is sure she'll have a good relationship with her counterpart at the state Bar Association - she's married to him. The new chancellor made her inaugural address to the city's largest lawyer group at its annual lunch today.

Kathy Wilkinson says she was inspired by the Katherine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy movie, "Adam's Rib," about married lawyers. Now she's living her own version of it.

"Never did I dream that I would end up meeting my husband in law school and we would someday end up being the heads of the two biggest bar associations in Pennsylvania."

Like her film counterpart, Wilkinson is a strong believer in opening up opportunities for women. The agenda she laid out in her address included a Women's Initiatives Task Force.

"This is about growing our profession by ensuring that there are opportunities for every lawyer."

Wilkinson begins serving January first. Her husband Tom Wilkinson heads the state association through May.