HARRISBURG, Pa. (April 24, 2023) — Paul D. Edger, senior deputy attorney general in charge of the Harrisburg region of the Bureau of Consumer Protection with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, will receive the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Michael K. Smith Excellence in Service Award at an awards ceremony during the PBA Annual Meeting May 3-5 in Philadelphia.
The award is named in memory of a young Philadelphia lawyer committed to providing legal services for low-income people and 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.
Prior to joining the Office of Attorney General in 2021, Edger was a regional managing attorney at MidPenn Legal Services, a nonprofit legal aid firm, where he represented clients and oversaw services in Adams, Cumberland, Franklin and Fulton counties. Previously, he was a staff attorney at the Law Office of Peter Russo in Mechanicsburg.
Beyond the workplace, Edger is an adjunct professor at Widener Commonwealth Law School, teaching employment, family and property law, and trial skills. He also serves as president of the law school’s Alumni Board and member of the Dean’s Advisory Committee.
For more than a decade, Edger has been involved in the PBA YLD. After serving as the 2021-22 chair, he is currently completing his immediate past chair role. Within the YLD, he served as treasurer for two years, co-chair of the YLD’s Zone Three for three years, and YLD representative to the PBA House of Delegates for four years.
Recently, Edger was appointed statewide coordinator for Wills for Heroes, a program co-sponsored by the PBA YLD that provides free wills and estate planning documents to first responders and military veterans. In addition, he has been a juror, attorney advisor and presiding judge in the PBA Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition, which is coordinated by the YLD. Recognized for his contributions to public service within the PBA, Edger received the 2022 PBA Pro Bono Award.
One of his nominators said: “Paul's character is one of service, whether it be to the YLD, PBA or his profession. He rarely says ‘no’ to anything asked of him when he is needed, and serves as a wonderful role model for young lawyers throughout the Commonwealth.”
In addition to his activities within the YLD, Edger is a member of the PBA Finance Committee, Government Lawyers Committee, International and Comparative Law Committee and its Council, Legal Services to the Public Committee, and Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, among others. He also serves on the Task Force on Statewide Electronic Filing and Retrieval.
Active in his local organized bar, Edger serves as second vice president on the Cumberland County Bar Association Board of Directors and co-chair of the association’s Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee. He previously served as chair of its Young Lawyer’s Division. In 2018, he received the association’s George E. Hoffer Service to Youth Award.
Within his community, Edger is chair of the Board of Directors of Safe Harbour, a nonprofit organization that provides housing services for homeless and near-homeless individuals in Cumberland County. In that capacity, he has been instrumental in spearheading a 40-unit low-income housing community in Carlisle that is set to break ground in May.
Edger received his J.D. from Widener University Commonwealth Law School and his B.A. in political philosophy and legal studies from Elizabethtown College.