HARRISBURG (June 1, 2009) - York County lawyer Sara A. Austin, a partner in the Austin Law Firm L.L.C., will begin a three-year term on the Pennsylvania Bar Association Board of Governors at the close of the organization's annual meeting June 4 in Pittsburgh.

One of 12 zone governors who serve on the PBA board, Austin will represent Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York county lawyers.

Austin is a member of the PBA House of Delegates and is a former PBA Young Lawyers Division Zone Three co-chair and former chair of the YLD Public Service Announcement Committee and Young Lawyers Network Project. She is chair of the PBA Bylaws Committee and a member of the PBA Membership Development, Women in the Profession and Governance and Mentoring committees. A member of the PBA Labor & Employment Law Section and the PBA Corporation, Banking and Business Law Section, she also serves as treasurer on the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.

She is a current member of the board of directors of the York County Bar Association, of which she served as president in 2006. She is a former chair of the Young Lawyers Section of the York County Bar Association and currently serves on the board of directors of the York County Bar Foundation. She also is a member of numerous York County Bar Association committees.

She is a current Pennsylvania delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates and has been active in the ABA Young Lawyers Division and the ABA Labor and Employment Law, General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Practice and Tort Trial and Insurance Practice sections along with a variety of ABA committees.

Austin is a former president of the Middle District Bankruptcy Bar Association and a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute. She is an adjunct professor at the Widener School of Law in Harrisburg.

She serves on the board of directors of the Community First Fund and is president of the York Spanish American Center. She also serves on the board of directors of the York Symphony Orchestra and is a former president of Leadership York.

Austin received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1987 from the University of Virginia and her Juris Doctor degree in 1990 from the Marshall-Wythe College of Law at William & Mary.

She and her husband, Jeff Schlaline, reside in York.

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 Sara A. Austin is available to download from the PBA Web site at: http://www.pabar.org/public/news%20releases/0910newofficersphotos.asp