Blair County Lawyer Joel C. Seelye to Serve as Immediate Past Chair of Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers Division

HARRISBURG (May 8, 2017) — Joel C. Seelye of Hollidaysburg, a partner in the Altoona law firm of Grabill & Seelye PLLC, will become the immediate past chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (YLD) at the conclusion of the PBA Annual Meeting, May 12, in Pittsburgh.  

In addition to concluding his one-year term as chair of the Young Lawyers Division, Seelye has served on its Executive Council and as the PBA YLD Zone Eight chair. He also served as the PBA YLD liaison to the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the continuing legal education arm of the PBA. 

With more than 7,000 members, the PBA Young Lawyers Division oversees many programs, projects and initiatives to assist its members and to support the community. Since 2009, the division’s statewide public service program, Wills for Heroes, has provided free estate planning documents to more than 10,000 first responders, including police officers, firefighters and military veterans, and their spouses and significant. For more than 30 years, the division has coordinated the PBA High School Mock Trial Competition, one of the largest in mock trial programs in the country. Seelye has served as the Blair County coordinator of the Wills for Heroes program and as regional coordinator of the mock trial competition.

Seelye is a member of the Blair County Bar Association (BCBA) and served as president of the BCBA Young Lawyers Committee. He is a member of the executive committee of the J.S. Black American Inn of Court. Seelye serves as vice president of the board of directors of the Hollidaysburg YMCA and on the advisory committee for the criminal justice program at the YTI Career Institute. The Altoona Mirror selected him for its “20 under 40” in 2012, a distinction recognizing business success, entrepreneurial spirit and community involvement. He is a 2014 graduate of “Leadership Blair County” and serves on the program’s planning committee.

Seelye is a summa cum laude graduate of California University of Pennsylvania and the Duquesne University School of Law. He also attended the International Study of Law program in Ireland.       

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 27,000 lawyers who are members of the association.