HARRISBURG (May 11, 2009) - Cambria County sole practitioner Timothy S. Burns of Johnstown will become chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Young Lawyers Division (YLD) at the conclusion of the association's annual meeting June 4 in Pittsburgh. It is the first time in PBA history that a Cambria County attorney has been elected to the prestigious position.

A member of the Pennsylvania and the Blair County bar associations, Burns served as treasurer of the PBA YLD and as the Zone 8 YLD co-chair. The Ebensburg-based attorney is a Life Fellow of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation and serves as a juror at the annual statewide PBA Mock Trial Competition finals. He served on the PBA Lawyer Advertising Task Force Implementation Committee and writes a regular column about the practice of law for the PBA publication At Issue.

He has served on the board of managers of the Cambria County Bar Association, and he has coordinated and sponsored Cambria County's mock trial competition for the past four years. He was the youngest recipient of the Cambria County Bar Association's President's Award for Community Service.

Active in his community, he is a member of the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Greater Johnstown Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Membership Committee of the Greater Johnstown YMCA. He is the solicitor for the Roxbury Bandshell Preservation Alliance and the Greater Johnstown/Cambria County Sportsmen's Association and has provided pro bono legal services to the Cresson Area Historical Society. He also is the solicitor for the Challenge Program, a multi-state educational initiative based in Johnstown.

He is a graduate of St. Vincent College and received his law degree from Duquesne University School of Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of Juris, the school's award-winning legal newsmagazine.

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access to legal services; and serve the 29,000 lawyers who are members of the association.

Editor's note: A photo of Timothy S. Burns is available to download from the PBA Web site at: http://www.pabar.org/public/news%20releases/0910newofficersphotos.asp