PHILADELPHIA — Harry Sarkis Cherken Jr., senior counsel in the international law firm of Faegre Drinker, has been appointed honorary consul of Armenia for the Greater Philadelphia area.
As honorary consul, Cherken will facilitate economic, education and cultural exchanges between Armenia and Philadelphia; will endeavor to protect the interests of Armenian citizens while in Philadelphia; will support the Armenian diaspora community and organizations at large; and, will act as a liaison for official government and business delegations. As such, he has become a member of the Consular Corps Association of Philadelphia, the oldest association of foreign Consuls in the United States.
In his practice as an attorney, Cherken focuses on the representation of publicly-traded and closely held corporations, partnerships, investors, and developers, particularly in the acquisition, construction, development, financing, leasing, management, consolidation, and disposition of commercial real estate. At the legacy law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath, he previously served as a managing partner and, for many years, chair of its real estate practice group.
Cherken is a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, and served for a decade as a member of the Advisory Board of the Advanced Commercial Leasing Institute of the Georgetown University Law Center. For a number of years, he was the principal editor of Ladner on Conveyancing, the premier text on Pennsylvania real estate.
In recognition of his professional accomplishments, Cherken is listed in the Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (Senior Statesman, Pennsylvania, Real Estate), Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, Who’s Who Legal: USA Real Estate, the International Who’s Who of Real Estate Lawyers, the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, the Guide to the World’s Leading Real Estate Lawyers, and the Expert Guide, The World’s Finest Lawyers, Construction and Real Estate.
After earning a B.A. in economics and business from Lafayette College, he received a J.D. from Villanova University School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review. He also earned an M.A. in liberal arts from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010.
