PHILADELPHIA, April 21 - Duane Morris LLP, one of the nation's 100 largest law firms, is pleased to announce that Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell today named Barbara Adams, chair of the Duane Morris Finance Practice Group and a member of the firm's Partners Board, General Counsel for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She will join the Governor's office on June 1.
"We're very proud of Barbara," Duane Morris Chairman Sheldon Bonovitz said. "Her talents and energy have played an integral role in the growth and success of our Finance Practice Group and in the growth of our entire firm. We are confident Barbara will serve the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania superbly as its chief legal counsel. Duane Morris' loss of this extremely talented lawyer is the Commonwealth's gain," Bonovitz concluded.
Barbara replaces Peter G. Glenn, who was appointed Acting General Counsel in March after former general counsel Leslie Anne Miller resigned. The Pennsylvania Office of Counsel is the largest legal enterprise in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, employing more than 500 attorneys who represent 32 executive and independent agencies across the Commonwealth. In her new role as General Counsel, Barbara will be the chief legal advisor to Governor Rendell and will oversee a wide array of legal matters on behalf of the state government.
Skilled in a wide range of finance-related issues, Barbara has practiced law at Duane Morris for nearly 28 years. She began her legal career at the firm as a summer associate in 1977, worked full time at the firm while finishing her degree at Temple University School of Law, and went on to become an associate in the Corporate Practice Group after graduation. Barbara helped build the Affordable Housing and Public Finance Practice, and in 2001, was appointed head of the Finance Practice Group. In January 2002, Barbara became a member of the firm's Partners Board. Barbara's practice has focused in the areas of public finance, affordable housing development matters, state and local government law, energy law and campaign finance law. In addition, she has frequently acted in the role of bond counsel, underwriters' counsel, borrower's counsel and trustee's counsel in bond issues for governmental debt management and for housing, transportation, infrastructure, educational and health care facilities.
Barbara is an active leader in local and national law-related organizations. She is a charter member of the Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law of the American Bar Association and is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Tax Exempt Finance Committee of the Business Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Since spring 1998, she has been a board member of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations and, in 2003, she joined the Board of the People's Emergency Center in Philadelphia.
She is a 1978 graduate of the Temple University School of Law and a graduate of Smith College in Massachusetts.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP, one of the 100 largest law firms in the United States, is a full-service firm of over 550 lawyers. In addition, Duane Morris affiliates have approximately 50 professionals engaged in ancillary service businesses. The firm represents clients across the nation and around the world through a combination of 18 offices and a relationship with an international network of independent law firms.