Dec. 19, 2025
Brenda Harkavy, Esq.
Laffey, Bucci, D’Andrea, Reich & Ryan https://laffeybucci.com/attorneys/brenda-harkavy/
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About The Lecturer
Brenda Harkavy, Esq., is a senior trial lawyer and member of the crime victim team at Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan. She is a fearless litigator, advocate and expert, who has devoted her career to pursuing justice on behalf of survivors of physical and sexual abuse, child abuse and exploitation, image-based sexual abuse, human trafficking, gender-based discrimination and harassment, and human rights violations. Brenda has represented the interests of countless survivors, against powerful institutions, corporations, and predators. She represented numerous clients sexually abused by former University of Southern California (“USC”) gynecologist, George Tyndall. The case is the largest known sexual abuse case recovery and personal injury settlement against a university in U.S. history. She later counseled in a nationally publicized settlement against a physician who sexually abused countless patients at a renowned medical institution. Brenda serves as an advisor and faculty member at national and statewide conferences, presenting on topics such as sexual abuse litigation and trauma-aware lawyering, for groups such as the American Association for Justice; Perrin Conferences; The Pennsylvania Bar Association; The Support Center for Child Advocates; Widener University; Temple University; and American University Washington College of Law. Brenda began her career as a Special Victims Unit prosecutor in Baltimore City where she litigated hundreds of sexual assault, child abuse, pornography, intimate partner violence, stalking, human trafficking, and homicide cases, in both state and federal courts.
In 2024, Brenda was named an ALM Lawyer on the Fast Track, Small/Mid-Size Firm Winner, and selected for a feature article by Pennsylvania and Delaware Super Lawyers Magazine which highlighted her lifelong commitment to advancing and advocating for the rights of abused women and children. She has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star from 2021-2025, and Super Lawyer in 2025. As a prosecutor, she was the second prosecutor ever to be awarded the Victoria F. Gelfman Legal Excellence Award, given to only one prosecutor state-wide whose “integrity, ability, community involvement, and commitment to justice exemplify the best of the legal profession.”
Brenda has published articles for various legal periodicals. Some of her more recent publications consist of: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion— Its Crucial Roles In Our Profession and Public Education, Pennsylvania Association for Justice, Jul 1, 2025; Calling Time on Barriers in Sexual Abuse Litigation, AAJ Trial Magazine, Apr 1, 2025; Statistics Speak For Themselves: Sexual Abuse Is Not A New Phenomenon, PA Justice News, Jun 1, 2024; Trauma-Informed Lawyering: It’s Not Just for Criminal Law or Public Interest Lawyers, The Legal Intelligencer, May 13, 2024; Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization and the Unresolved Legal Purgatory of Reproductive Rights, Trial Reporter Journal of the Maryland Association for Justice, Feb 1, 2023.
Brenda currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Support Center for Child Advocates; Co-Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Women’s Rights Committee; Co-Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Women in the Profession’s Legislative Subcommittee; Co-Chair of the American Association for Justice’s Sexual Assault Litigation Group; and on the Editorial Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Reporter. She received her JD from American University, Washington College of Law, where she graduated in the top 10% of her class and worked with immigrant women fleeing gender-based violence, and her BA from the University of Pennsylvania. She is fluent in Spanish and the mother of three (twin daughters and a son).
Practice Area(s)
Trial
Civil Rights
Personal Injury and Negligence
Litigation
Education
J.D., American University Washington College of Law, 2011
B.A., Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, 2006
