About Margaret
Margaret Klaw earned her undergraduate degree in political science from Boston University and went on to receive her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in 1984. Her legal education laid a foundation in advocacy and public service that has threaded through a long career in family and victims' rights law.
She began her practice as an associate at the Law Offices of Phyllis Gelman in 1984. Two years later she moved into a public interest role as assistant general counsel for the Victim Services Agency. That work led to a position as litigation coordinator at the Women Against Abuse Legal Center in 1988, where she handled cases involving domestic violence and support for survivors. In 1991 she returned to private practice as an associate at the Law Offices of Joni J. Berner, and by 1994 she was named managing partner at Berner Klaw & Watson LLP.
Klaw's career blends courtroom work, agency counsel, and nonprofit involvement. She has taken cases in family court and has counselled clients on protection-from-abuse actions, custody disputes, and the legal rights of unmarried cohabitants. Her early roles in victim services informed her approach to those matters and continue to shape the kinds of cases she accepts.
Outside the office she has remained active in bar and community organizations. She serves in multiple positions within the Philadelphia Bar Association, including chair and officer roles in the Family Law Section, co-chairing committees on domestic violence and on the legal rights of unmarried cohabitants, and representing the Family Law Section on the Board of Governors. She is co-chair of the Women’s Rights Committee and is an arbitrator for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.
Klaw also serves on boards and advisory panels for local and national nonprofits. Her memberships include the Mazzoni Center Legal Advisory Board, Equality Advocates Pennsylvania, the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women, Settlement Music School’s Germantown branch, First Person Arts, and The Midwife Collective. She volunteers with the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program and coaches the mock trial team at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts.
The arc of her work shows steady engagement with family law, victims’ rights, and community legal education. Her experience spans public agencies, nonprofit legal centers, and private practice leadership. She currently practices at BKW Family Law LLC, handling family law matters including custody, domestic relations, and protection-from-abuse cases.
