Independence Square POB 1776 Philadelphia PA 19105
About the Trustee
Lincoln Charitable Trust: Former and Senior Trustees
U.S. Circuit Judge Arlin M. Adams
U.S. Circuit Judge Arlin M. Adams
U.S. Circuit Judge Arlin M. Adams
The Honorable Arlin M. Adams (April 16, 1921 – Dec. 22, 2015) was a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. As late as 2013 he served as counsel to Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP, and was listed as a NAFTA adjudicator. Judge Adams was twice on the short list for Supreme Court nominee (first by Nixon and later, Ford).
Adams was well known for his post-judiciary roles in significant legal cases. In 1994, he conducted an investigation of the Pennsylvania attorney general for alleged criminal activity among other political and financial corruptionm. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1996. From 1998 to 2002, Adams served as independent counsel in an investigation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that uncovered widespread corruption. In addition to being one of the original trustees, Adams's service to society includes both legal and community capacities. He was a member of the Board of the Pennsylvania Hospital, and had previously served as a member of the board and Chairman of the Einstein Healthcare Network, trustee for the William Penn Foundation, the National Constitution Center, and Bryn Mawr College and President of the congregation for Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel. He was a former chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association and past president of both the American Judicature Society and American Philosophical Society. He also was the former chair of the U.S. Supreme Court Judicial Fellows Commission. In 2001, Susquehanna University created the Arlin M. Adams Center for Law and Society, and in 2005, with the support of the Annenberg Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania Law School established the Arlin M. Adams Professorship in Constitutional Law. The Drexel University School of Law established the Arlin M. Adams Professor of Legal Writing position in 2007 to recognize Adams' long career as a lawyer and judge.
Fred W. Hess III
U.S. Circuit Judge Arlin M. Adams
U.S. Circuit Judge Arlin M. Adams
Fred W. Hess III, one of the three original trustees, remains as a Senior Trustee and Chief of Staff to the Trustee, Hon. Peter J. Wirs. "Uncle Fred" is a long-termed political advisor to multiple Federal, state, and Philadelphia public officers, including U.S. Senator Arlen Spector (R-PA). He was also the executive director of the Cannstatter Volksfest-Verein, a German fraternal society in Philadelphia. Hess began his professional career in the family's malt beverage distributorship.
Commissioner H. Paul Senft, Jr.
U.S. Circuit Judge Arlin M. Adams
Commissioner H. Paul Senft, Jr.
Hon. H. Paul Senft, Jr. (Sept. 27, 1929- May 21, 2024) was a Polk County (FL) Commissioner and one of Florida’s three voting members of the Republican National Committee from 2004 to 2012. Senft was appointed by RNC National Chairman Michael Steele to succeed former U.S. Third Circuit Judge Arlin M. Adams (before the trusteeship was converted to a single trustee). Senft continued as a Senior Trustee until his passing. Gov. Charlie Crist appointed Senft in 2008 to the Board of Governors of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, whose jurisdiction includes most of Polk County and all or part of 15 other counties. Senft held the position for 11 years, taking on the role of board chair from 2011 to 2013. He also served three terms as president of the Haines City Chamber of Commerce and was a founder of the Central Florida Economic Development Council, the obituary said. Among other volunteer roles, Senft served on the Polk County Planning Board and the boards of Polk State College, Florida Citrus Mutual and what is now AdventHealth Heart of Florida Hospital.