JoAnne A. Epps was a trailblazing legal leader whose career reshaped institutions, advanced justice, and inspired generations of lawyers. A graduate of Yale Law School, Epps spent more than four decades at Temple University, becoming one of the most influential figures in its history. She served as Acting President, Executive Vice President and Provost, Senior Advisor to the President, and Dean of the Beasley School of Law, leading with integrity, vision, and a deep commitment to educational access.

As dean, Epps championed innovation in legal education, elevating Temple Law into the national Top 50 and expanding experiential learning, advocacy training, and business and transactional law programs. She also played a central role in establishing the Stephen and Sandra Sheller Center for Social Justice, furthering the school’s mission of public service. As provost, she helped guide the university through the COVID-19 pandemic and led major strategic planning initiatives.

Epps’ dedication to public service extended far beyond academia. She served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia and Deputy City Attorney in Los Angeles, and later became a leading voice on policing, civil rights, and criminal justice reform. She chaired Philadelphia’s first Police Oversight Board, monitored the city’s stop-and-frisk litigation for nearly a decade, led the Mayor’s Task Force on Police Discipline, and served for years on the Board of Directors of the Defender Association of Philadelphia, including as its president.

A national advocate for diversity and equity in the legal profession, Epps held leadership roles in the American Bar Association, the National Association of Women Lawyers, and ALI-ABA. Her contributions earned her some of the profession’s highest honors, including the ABA Spirit of Excellence Award, the NAWL M. Ashley Dickerson Award, the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Justice Sonia Sotomayor Diversity Award, and repeated recognition as one of the 100 most influential Black lawyers in America.

Throughout her life, JoAnne Epps was known for her wisdom, compassion, and unwavering belief in the power of law to improve communities. The Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame proudly honors her extraordinary legacy of service, leadership, and justice.