HARRISBURG (April 21, 2004) � James A. Wells, a partner in the Belden Law firm in Greensburg, will become chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Young Lawyers Division (YLD) during the association�s annual meeting May 12 - 14 in Hershey. Wells will serve for a one-year term.

A member of the Westmoreland, Pennsylvania and American Bar associations, Wells served as chair of PBA YLD zone six and chair of the PBA YLD Technology Committee. He is a member of the PBA Task Force on Student Loan Forgiveness. He is a delegate to the PBA House of Delegates and to the ABA YLD Assembly.

Wells served as chair of the Westmoreland Bar Association�s Young Lawyers Committee and its Law Explorers Committee. He received the Young Lawyer of the Year Award from the Westmoreland Bar Association for 1999-2000. He is a member of the Ned J. Nakles American Inn of Court and served as an attorney coach for the Belle Vernon Area High School Mock Trial team.

Wells is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the West Virginia University College of Law, where he was a member of the West Virginia chapter of the Order of the Coif and served as Articles Editor for the West Virginia Law Review. He and his wife, Dawn, reside in Belle Vernon.