On June 27, The Legal Intelligencer honored a group of local lawyers with Lifetime Achievement Awards. Among that list was out Philadelphia labor and employment lawyer Deborah R. Willig, Esq., of Willig, Williams & Davidson. Willig, who is a founding member of her firm, graduated from Temple University School of Law in 1975. Willig pursued a law degree because of her passion for fighting for marginalized communities. “I think that our country is based on a system of laws and I think the law helps level the playing field for people who are disenfranchised,” she said. Willig can add the Intelligencer’s Lifetime Achievement Award to a long list of other accolades in the last few decades, including this year’s inclusion as a top-rated lawyer by American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell, and the Bob Kyler Ambassador of Hope Award from the City of Hope and the Tri-State Labor & Management Council in 2012. She is also a member of the American Law Institute, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and on the board of the Juvenile Law Center. Willig also served as the immediate past president of the French International School of Philadelphia. Willig served as the first female chancellor for the Philadelphia Bar Association in 1992. She said the playing field for female lawyers has changed since that time, although there is still work to be done. “Some things have changed dramatically and some have remained the same. Hiring and partnerships have changed, and the discrimination women suffered does not exist as strongly.” Willig launched her firm in 1979. “I am incredibly fortunate. I love what I do and who I do it with and who I do it for. Our practice combines the ability to help better the lives of working men and women to fight discrimination and promote diversity.” Willig said she is honored to have her work recognized by The Legal Intelligencer. “I am very honored and very humbled to be recognized. It is a pretty extraordinary group of people and collection of people to be a part of. It is incredibly wonderful to be recognized in this fashion,” she said.