co-Managing Attorney
Kadeem Morris is a Co-Managing Attorney in the Housing Unit at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, where he co-manages a team of 40 lawyers, paralegals, social workers, and other staff members in litigation and advocacy to prevent evictions and homelessness. He also co-leads the Philadelphia Eviction Prevention Project (PEPP), which oversees the implementation of Right to Counsel in Philadelphia. Under his leadership, PEPP has grown to a nationally recognized toolkit of legal interventions that transformed Philadelphia’s approach to housing stability and homelessness prevention. PEPP serves approximately 4,000 tenants annually and its Right to Counsel program has been implemented to target the most vulnerable communities with free legal representation.
Mr. Morris focuses his advocacy on the intersectionality of housing access and affordability. He is actively engaged in the Philadelphia Preservation of Affordable Housing Coalition and working with the Philadelphia Housing Authority to reduce the barriers to admission to subsidized housing. Mr. Morris has testified before The United States Senate and Philadelphia City Council to increase funding to critical rental assistance programs to keep Philadelphians housing in the wake of COVID-19. Mr. Morris also co-chairs the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Civil Gideon Task Force, working to improve access to the court systems and resources for pro se litigants in our court system.
Prior to joining CLS, he was a Martin Luther King Fellow and Staff Attorney with the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project (PULP). At PULP, Mr. Morris focused on systematic advocacy for utility affordability for residential utility service customers in Pennsylvania. Through this work, he discovered his passion for housing through his advocacy for clients struggling with their utility bills.
In 2022, Mr. Morris was recognized by the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association as one of the Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers under 40.
He received his J.D. from Pennsylvania State University, The Dickinson School of Law in 2017. He received his B.A. with Honors from the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury in 2014.