Carlisle

Dusty Elias Kirk to receive Rambo Award

The Women’s Law Caucus (WLC) of the Penn State University Dickinson School of Law will honor Dusty Elias Kirk, class of 1979, as the 20th recipient of the Hon. Sylvia H. Rambo Award during a ceremony on Feb. 27, at Lewis Katz Hall in Carlisle, Pa. Kirk, a partner in the law firm of Reed Smith, will receive the Rambo Award in recognition of her exemplary contributions to the legal profession and to society as a whole.

The Rambo Award was introduced in 1993 by the WLC to honor its first recipient, the Honorable Sylvia H. Rambo, a 1962 graduate of the Law School and the first woman to serve as chief judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, where she continues to serve as a senior judge.

"Ms. Kirk's commitment to women both within the field of law and in her community made her the obvious choice for the Rambo Award,” said Gabriella Grosso, WLC president. “We are thrilled to recognize her accomplishments."

Kirk is based in Reed Smith’s Pittsburgh, Pa., office where she serves as the leader of the Global Real Estate Practice Group. According to the firm, she concentrates her practice on all aspects of real estate development, acquisitions and economic incentives, with an emphasis on real estate litigation, including real estate tax-assessment appeals, land-use and zoning appeals, and eminent domain proceedings.

Kirk has been honored by numerous organizations for her professional achievements and charitable efforts. She was selected by the Pittsburgh Business Times as the recipient of the 2013 Business Women First Award; named to Real Estate Forum’s 2012 Women of Influence list, recognizing women who help shape the commercial real estate industry nationwide; chosen by Celebrate & Share as a 2011 Women of Achievement honoree and a 2010 Women of Distinction award recipient; and was a finalist for the 2009 Athena Award, which celebrates women who demonstrate excellence in their profession, contribute to their communities, and help other women to succeed through mentorship. She has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 2006, and as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer from 2011-2013.

Kirk is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Women in the Profession Committee, and serves as chair of the Allegheny Regional Asset District. She also has served on the advisory board of Chatham University’s Pennsylvania Center for Women in Politics. Kirk is a past president of the board of directors of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, and a past board chair of Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania.

Prior to joining Reed Smith, Kirk was a partner in the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP and the founding member and president of Frank, Bails, Kirk, Murcko and Toal, P.C.

Dusty Elias Kirk, Dickinson School of Law Class 1979, will receive the Hon. Sylvia H. Rambo Award on February 24, 2014. Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated July 22, 2015

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