Susan Pearlstein

Susan Pearlstein is a Senior Attorney, Violence Prevention and Policy Strategist in the Family Law Unit at Philadelphia Legal Assistance (“PLA”), the federally funded civil legal aid program in Philadelphia. She received her B.S. from the Pennsylvania State University in 1990 and J.D. from the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Law in 1998. Upon graduation, Ms. Pearlstein received a Skadden Foundation Fellowship to represent young mothers escaping family violence in protection from abuse, child custody, child support and divorce matters at PLA and has continued to represent survivors of family violence following the Fellowship. She has specialized in the representation of immigrant victims of sexual assault and family violence, and is currently overseeing several grants from the Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women and from the Office of Victims of Crime to serve these clients. Ms. Pearlstein is dedicated to providing trauma-informed services to clients and enabling the legal community to be better informed of how trauma impacts both our clients, their families and ourselves. After supervising the Family Law Unit for over 12 years, Ms. Pearlstein now concentrates on policy and advocacy work while she continues to litigate complex family law matters. She is an active member of the Philadelphia Bar Association, serving as Chair of the Family Law Section in 2022, Chair of several committees, and serves on the Association’s Access to Justice Task Force as a co-Chair of the Family Law Group. She was a member of the Board of Directors of Women In Transition from 2006 through 2013 and served as Secretary for several years. Ms. Pearlstein has presented extensively on family law and the intersection of inter-personal family violence and immigration at local and national conferences and continuing legal education sessions.