Kevin Harden - Council of Trustees

Chairperson

Mr. Kevin Harden Jr. '07, Esq., joined the KU Council of Trustees in 2020. He currently serves as chair, after completing terms as secretary in 2024 and vice chair in 2026.

Harden practices law in Philadelphia, Pa. at Harden Crichton, P.C., a firm he founded in 2026 with fellow trial lawyer Troy R. Crichton, Esq. Prior to founding Harden Crichton, Harden was a partner with Ross Feller Casey LLP. Over the course of his career, Harden has worked tirelessly to rebuild the lives of families impacted by catastrophic events. He has worked on a series of significant cases, including as second-chair trial counsel in a record-setting $9.6 million verdict in a Berks County medical malpractice case (the highest personal injury verdict in Berks County history). He was also a member of the team that exonerated Terrance Lewis, a Philadelphia man who served more than 21 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. In June 2020, Harden won a then-record-breaking $6.25 million settlement for Lewis, the highest non-DNA exoneration resolution in Pennsylvania history at the time.

Overall, Harden has assisted in the recovery of more than $100 million for individuals and families impacted by the negligence of others and corporations and governments in wrongful death, medical malpractice, premises liability, gun violence, birth injury, civil rights and product liability cases.

Early in his career, Harden worked in the white collar and commercial litigation practice groups of national law firm Eckert Seamans Cherin and Mellott, LLC. While there, he represented corporations and their executives in sensitive government investigations and business litigation. Harden defended matters involving numerous federal and state investigative agencies, including the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Securities Exchange Commission, the Office of Foreign Asset Control, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office and numerous other state and municipal investigative and regulatory agencies.

As lead counsel, Harden has tried more than 25 trials to jury verdict and numerous bench trials in both state and federal courts. He has represented corporations in professional malpractice, breach of contract, consumer rights, real estate, civil rights, product liability, construction, whistleblower, medical malpractice, class action and mass tort litigation.

Harden began his career as a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. He is originally from West Philadelphia and attended Philadelphia public schools. He graduated from Kutztown University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Paralegal Studies with a minor in Political Science. After Kutztown, he attended the Temple University Beasley School of Law.

Harden has been recognized as "Outstanding Young Lawyer" by the Barristers' Association of Philadelphia, "Best of the Bar" for Personal Injury Litigation by the Philadelphia Business Journal, a "Lawyer on the Fast Track" by the Legal Intelligencer, "Community Hero" by non-profit Uplift Solutions, "40 Under 40" by City and State PA, "Friend of the Year" by the Urban Affairs Coalition, the "Amber Racine Award" from the Pennsylvania Association of Justice, the "Haddon, McClellan and Richardson Alumni Award" from the Temple University Beasley School of Law Black Law Student Association and the "Black Rose Award" from Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.

Harden is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and the founder of West Philadelphia Taekwondo and Sport Karate – a martial arts studio in the neighborhood where he began practicing Taekwondo more than 25 years ago. He has served in leadership positions within numerous professional associations and nonprofit organizations, including the Barristers' Association of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Public Interest Law Center, the Urban Affairs Coalition, the Pennsylvania Police Reform Working Group, the Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts and the Defender Association of Philadelphia.

Harden resides in the West Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia and is the proud father of two girls – Sasha and Lynnex.