Gov. Tom Corbett Monday announced the appointment of Jarad W. Handelman as General Counsel of the Commonwealth.
Handelman, 42, of Lower Paxton Township, has served as Gov. Corbett’s First Executive Deputy General Counsel since January, 2013. In that role, he oversaw the operation and management of the Governor’s Office of General Counsel Executive Office and the Offices of Chief Counsel, which are comprised of nearly 500 attorneys in the 34 executive agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction.
“Jarad’s hard work, dedication and legal expertise in overseeing the day to day legal business of the Commonwealth has been exemplary,” said Gov. Corbett. “He has been a valuable asset for the administration, and the Commonwealth, and I’m pleased to appoint him as General Counsel for the remainder of my term in office.”
In addition to his service as the First Executive Deputy General Counsel, Handelman supervised all litigation conducted by the Office of General Counsel and represented various Commonwealth executive agencies in a variety of litigation and appeals before courts of the Commonwealth.
Notably, Handelman served as lead counsel to the Receiver for the City of Harrisburg and all executive agencies involved in the resolution of the Harrisburg fiscal crisis.
Handelman replaces James D. Schultz, who served as General Counsel to Gov. Corbett since 2012 until returning to private practice this week.
“On behalf of the entire Commonwealth, I thank Jim for his tireless efforts and dedication to the people of Pennsylvania,” Gov. Corbett added. “He demonstrated a legal expertise and keen insight that has helped move Pennsylvania forward.”
Handelman, a Gettysburg College and Widener School of Law graduate, was in private practice for 12 years with the Hershey law firm of James, Smith, Dietterick & Connelly, LLP before joining public service. In addition to his Commonwealth service, Handelman serves on the Supreme Court’s Civil Procedural Rules Committee.
He was appointed to the Rules Committee by Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Thomas G. Saylor in 2013 for a three year term.
