Patricia (Patti) Santelle, Chair Emeritus/Former Managing Partner, was recently featured in an article in The Pennsylvania Lawyer magazine entitled “Contests at Sea and in the Courtroom.”
While Patti is no stranger to recognition in the courtroom, this article takes a unique look into a different side of her life: her affinity for sailing.
The article compares life in the courtroom to life on the seas.
All three attorneys highlighted that the sport of sailing and the practice of law share many similarities, including a love of competition, the reward of solving difficult challenges and facilitating enriching personal relationships.
Patti, who was the first woman in the city of Philadelphia to serve as Managing Partner of a major law firm, has dedicated as many years to the sport of sailing as she has to her career representing insurance company clients in complex coverage disputes.
Her experience as an attorney has strengthened her skills as a competitive sailboat racer.
Since 2016, Patti has been consistently recognized by Chambers USA for her stellar work in Pennsylvania Insurance Law; since 2005, she has been awarded Pennsylvania "Super Lawyer".
She has also been featured in The Best Lawyers in America® since 2019 in the practice areas of Insurance Law and, most recently, Litigation - Insurance.
Patti is a former member and Past Chair of the District IV Ethics Committee in New Jersey and has been appointed four times by the Supreme Court of New Jersey to serve as a Special Master on complex ethics proceedings in New Jersey. She is also the Past Chancellor of the Rutgers Law School – Camden Alumni Association and the 2020 recipient of the law school’s Distinguished Alumni Award, as well as an inaugural Co-Chair of the Law School’s Alumnae (i.e., Women’s) Network.
Patti has handled pro bono matters for the Homeless Advocacy Project, the Senior Law Center of Philadelphia, the Support Center for Child Advocates and Volunteers for the Indigent (VIP) Tangled Title Program. Since 2023, Patti has served as the Co-Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Large Law Firm Committee and, effective 2024, she was appointed Co-Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association Women in the Profession Committee.
Her love of sailing has resulted in Patti to helping to create and now leading a non-profit foundation which provides opportunities for children living on the U.S. Coast Guard Training Base as well as lower-income children in the Cape May region of New Jersey to learn sailing and spend time on the water.
To read more about Patti’s sailing experiences and how they intersect with her life in the legal sector, click here.