Brenda Harkavy

Brenda Harkavy is a trial lawyer and member of the crime victim team at Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan in Philadelphia. She represents survivors in matters involving sexual assault, child abuse and exploitation, human trafficking, civil rights violations, gender-based discrimination, and related personal injury claims. Her practice is built around litigation against institutions, corporations, and individuals accused of causing or enabling serious harm to victims and survivors.

Harkavy earned her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania. She is licensed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Maryland and is admitted before several federal courts. Her education and multi-jurisdictional admissions support a practice involving complex civil claims, appellate issues, and matters that can span different courts and legal theories.

Harkavy began her career as a Special Victims Unit prosecutor in Baltimore City, where she litigated sexual assault, child abuse, intimate partner violence, stalking, human trafficking, pornography, and homicide cases. In private practice, she has represented survivors in major institutional sexual abuse litigation and has handled appellate work that expanded a path for certain adult survivors of childhood abuse to pursue claims under successor liability theories. She also teaches on sexual abuse litigation and trauma-aware lawyering.

Brenda Harkavy combines prosecution experience with civil trial advocacy for people harmed by abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and institutional failures. She belongs to several trial lawyer and victim-advocacy organizations and regularly speaks on issues connected to survivor representation. Her work focuses on careful case development, trauma-informed communication, and persistent litigation against defendants with substantial resources, helping clients seek accountability through civil claims and related appellate proceedings.

Law Office Affiliations

• Attorney, Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan
• Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Member, New Jersey State Bar Association
• Member, New York State Bar Association
• Member, Maryland State Bar Association
• Board Member and Volunteer Attorney, Support Center for Child Advocates
• Co-Chair Sexual Assault Litigation Group, American Association for Justice
• Co-Chair, Women’s Rights Committee, Philadelphia Bar Association
• Editorial Board, Philadelphia Lawyer
• Member, National Crime Victim Bar Association
• Member, Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
• Member, Pennsylvania Association for Justice
• Member, New York State Trial Lawyers Association

Licensed State

• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• New York
• Maryland

Education

• American University Washington College of Law
  Juris Doctor (JD) (Magna Cum Laude)
• University of Pennsylvania
  Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science (Magna Cum Laude)

Awards & Badges