The Earle Mack School of Law mourns the death of Jerome Shestack, a prominent Philadelphia lawyer and former president of the American Bar Association who helped launch and guide the law school.

Shestack played a key role in helping Drexel University to open the law school in 2006, and he served on the school’s advisory board until his death on Aug. 18.

"Mr. Shestack has been a tremendous asset to this school since its inception," Dean Roger Dennis said. "We will miss his sage counsel."

Described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as "a mover and shaker in law, politics and culture," Shestack’s myriad accomplishments included chairing the International League for Human Rights and serving as U.S. representative on the United Nations Human Rights Council.