The second annual AL DÍA 40 Under Forty event will serve to highlight and showcase some of the most diverse and impactful young professionals across the Philadelphia region.

At the event, taking place on August 27, 2021, James P. (JP) Faunes will be one of the 40 honorees. Currently, he is an Attorney at Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock Dodig, LLP.

James P. Faunes joined Feldman Shepherd in 2016 after nearly three years litigating personal injury claims on behalf of the City of Philadelphia Law Department. During his tenure as a Deputy City Solicitor, he represented Philadelphia police officers, firefighters, and departmental employees, securing numerous verdicts on behalf of those individuals and entities at trial and arbitration. Prior to his time as a City Solicitor, Faunes practiced at two large Philadelphia law firms representing corporate clients in contract and regulatory actions. He also completed clinical internships with Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as well as an internship with the office of the Montgomery County (PA) Public Defender.

Faunes earned his law degree from the Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he was a Staff Editor on the Temple Law Review. While attending the Beasley School of Law, he earned an Outstanding Oral Advocate Award for his work in its lauded Integrated Trial Advocacy Program and was named a Fellow of the Rubin Public Interest Honor Society. 

Here are James P. Faunes' responses: 

Perspective is so important. Whether in the face of the pressure we exert on ourselves, or the debts we feel we owe, or - when working on behalf of clients who have suffered tragedy - the empathy that is natural and necessary to the profession. Maintaining perspective is always a challenge that is easily overlooked and requires real effort and intention to maintain.

Hard question! Many better qualified lawyers than I have spoken on this issue in recent years, but as succinctly as I can sum up: accountability. Clients, stakeholders, businesses, referring attorneys, in-house counsel – most individuals and entities blessed to have agency in these matters could continue to advance the ball by holding law firms accountable when it comes to their DEI efforts. Its importance is self-evident and requires neither a defense nor an explanation (respectfully).

Sacrifice.

Aging out of under-40 awards and chasing my 5-and-a-half year old son around a soccer field. Maybe his little brother or sister too, but that’s up to his mom.