Hollidaysburg Lawyer Joel Seelye Presented with Service Award from the PBA Young Lawyers Division

HARRISBURG (May 16, 2018) — The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Young Lawyers Division (YLD) presented its Michael K. Smith Excellence in Service Award to Joel C. Seelye of Hollidaysburg during the state association’s Annual Meeting Awards Luncheon, May 10, in Hershey.

The award is named in memory of a young Philadelphia lawyer committed to providing legal services for low-income people and to offering law-related educational programs to students. It is presented to a Pennsylvania young lawyer who, through his or her exemplary personal and professional conduct, reminds lawyers of their professional and community responsibilities.

Seelye is being recognized for his willingness to always offer fellow attorneys his expertise, guidance and assistance, as well as his unrivaled professionalism, collegiality and dedication to the YLD.

Seelye, a partner at Grabill & Seelye PLLC in Altoona, formerly served as chair of the PBA YLD, the Zone 8 chair on its Executive Council and the YLD liaison to the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. He also served as the Blair County coordinator for its Wills for Heroes program, which provides free basic estate planning documents to first responders and military veterans, and is the former regional coordinator of the High School Mock Trial Competition.

Seelye is a member of the Blair County Bar Association (BCBA) and former 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 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 26,000 lawyers who are members