The Honorable Carolyn Engel Temin Of Counse

The Honorable Carolyn Engel Temin brings more than six decades of experience in criminal law, judicial service, and public leadership to the firm.

Judge Temin began her legal career as the first woman attorney hired by the Defender Association of Philadelphia. She later served as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia, including as a homicide prosecutor.

In 1983, she was elected to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where she served for 30 years and presided over thousands of criminal and civil matters. During her judicial career, she became the first woman elected President of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges and authored the Pennsylvania Benchbook for Criminal Proceedings.

Following her retirement from the Court of Common Pleas, Judge Temin served as an International Judge on the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, where she adjudicated cases involving organized crime, public corruption, and war crimes. She has also lectured and consulted on judicial systems and rule-of-law initiatives in Europe, the Caribbean, Asia, Central America, and North Africa.

In 2018, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner appointed Judge Temin to serve as First Assistant District Attorney. In that role, she helped oversee one of the nation’s largest prosecutor’s offices during a period of significant criminal justice reform.

Judge Temin has received numerous honors for her service to the legal profession, including the Anne X. Alpern Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession. She is a past President of the National Association of Women Judges and a member of the American Law Institute.

As Of Counsel, Judge Temin provides strategic advice, case analysis, mentoring, and litigation consultation to the firm’s attorneys.