Kalamazoo College Trustee Emeritus Ralph Wellington ’68 recently received the 2024 Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (PVLA) Award for Exceptional Service.
In addition to providing pro bono legal services for artists and small arts organizations in the Philadelphia area for many years, Wellington served on the PVLA board from 1993–2003, including two years as president, and from 2020–2024.
Wellington received the award during PVLA’s annual benefit celebration, The Arts Affair 2024, on June 5 at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
“It was very moving,” Wellington said. “I’m not the only person who has donated a lot of time over the years. It’s not why you do something like this, but it was touching to be appreciated by the board and others for the service, and to have my son and daughter-in-law and a lot of people from the community there.”
Growing up in Three Rivers, Michigan, Wellington absorbed the lesson “do what you can for other people” from his parents. “That was just who they were,” he said. “I grew up with that around me, and my siblings echo that as well.”
After graduating from K with a degree in political science and earning his J.D. at the University of Michigan, Wellington joined prominent Philadelphia law firm Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis.
“I was with that firm for 52 and a half years, and the firm was very prominent in doing public service work,” Wellington said. “The firm chairman, Bernard Segal, co-founded the nonprofit Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to organize people to go down south and fight for desegregation. Donating time and services was part of the culture, so that was part of what I grew up with in the law.”
In addition to being a lawyer, Wellington is a musician, and he quickly got involved with PVLA when it was founded in 1978.
“I love artists and musicians, and what they provide to the communities that they’re in, yet they’re not as financially supported as many other organizations,” he said. “This nonprofit was created to make sure that artists—both visual artists and people involved in all the artistic creations of the world—and small art organizations would have legal services available to them on a pro bono basis, because they support the community and add to all our lives.”
One memorable case with PVLA involved a prominent painter in Russia many years ago, who was brought to the United States by a New York art group that took his paintings and abandoned him. He ended up in Philadelphia. Wellington and PVLA took on the matter, filed a lawsuit and got his paintings returned. He then became respected in the United States.
In a statement, PVLA honored Wellington’s “exceptional legal acumen and his commitment to advancing the arts.”
“Beyond his legal practice, Ralph has been a pillar of support for PVLA for over three decades,” the statement reads. “Ralph’s leadership and vision have significantly contributed to PVLA’s mission of providing pro bono legal services to artists and arts organizations in the Philadelphia area. Ralph’s passion for the arts extends beyond his legal work. As a talented jazz musician, he embodies a deep commitment to the arts both inside and outside the courtroom. His ability to blend his legal expertise with his artistic pursuits makes him an invaluable asset to PVLA and the broader arts community.”
Wellington’s law career has included serving as council to RCA and NBC in New York and California, working as a trial and appellate lawyer handling major cases all over the U.S. and Europe, arguing in the U.S. Supreme Court, and lecturing in England about the U.S. civil trial system. Although he is close to retirement from law firm Dilworth Paxson, where he has worked since 2023, his music is still going strong.
“Our mother thought it was a good idea for us all to take piano lessons when we were 8 years old,” Wellington said. “I learned how to play classically, formed a rock band in high school, and then got into jazz later. Being able to sit down in front of a keyboard and create music or play it has always been important to me.”
Over the years, he has played piano in trios, quintets and other groups. He’s composed music, recorded albums and made his music available online.
He has also published short stories in the past, and a few years ago, he took up oil painting. Recently, at his 60th high school reunion, he donated three of his landscape paintings to the Three Rivers Promise, a scholarship fund in its initial fundraising phase.
“I’ve looked for creativity and balance in life,” Wellington said. “I’ve always loved the sound of music and the creativity of playing with a band or by yourself and having fun. Even though I will be retiring soon, I’ll still be involved in public service; I’ll be on the board of PVLA for a while. I will continue with the music and arts and stay active for as long as life allows.”