I was born in Brownsville the youngest child of Jack and Ann Purcell. I grew up in Brownsville and attended Brownsville Catholic Elementary School and graduated from Brownsville Area High School. I then attended Penn State University, first at the Fayette Campus and then the University Park Campus. I graduated in 1980 with a BA in Political Science. While at Penn State, I was on the Dean’s List and named to Who’s Who in American Junior Colleges . I also participated in Intercollegiate Athletics while at Penn State Fayette. I then went on to complete my education at West Virginia University, College of Law, graduating at the top 10 percent of my law class. In law school, I was inducted in to the Order of the Coif (The Order of the Coif is an honorary scholastic society the purpose of which is to encourage excellence in legal education by fostering a spirit of careful study, recognizing those who as law students attained a high grade of scholarship, and honoring those who as lawyers, judges and teachers attained high distinction for their scholarly or professional accomplishments). I was also on the Editorial Board of West Virginia Law Review. I graduated in 1984 with my Jurist Doctorate from West Virginia University. After graduation, I was admitted into the West Virginia and Pennsylvania Bar Associations. Until 2015 I practiced with a local firm. Since 2015 I have been a sole practitioner at my current location. My Litigation Experience has included the following:

• Prepared and had granted a Petition for Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court in a death penalty case.
• Briefed and argued multiple cases before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the United States Courts of Appeal for the Third and Fourth Circuits.
• Briefed and argued over one hundred cases before the Pennsylvania Superior and Commonwealth Courts and the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board
• Served as trial counsel in complex civil cases in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania involving civil rights and employee benefits.
• Prepared and prosecuted to conclusion, either by decision or settlement, over three hundred workers’ compensation cases.
• Tried to verdict cases in the Courts of Common Pleas of Allegheny, Fayette and Greene Counties.

My Solicitor Experience includes:

• Serving as Solicitor for many governmental bodies; Litigating all types of issues involving these governmental bodies including contract, employment, zoning, eminent domain, insurance coverage and landlord/tenant.
• Advising governmental clients concerning a range of issues including regulations, information requests, conduct of meetings, procurement matters and personnel actions.

In 1991, I married my wife Annamarie the former Annamarie Perry of Uniontown. Annamarie and I have been married for the past 28 years. Annamarie and I have one daughter, Johnna (23), who is a first year law student at Cornell Law School. We also have two West Highland Terriers named Hamlet and McGregor. Since 1993, we have resided in Farmington.

I am an avid reader and can often be found with my iPad in hand. I also enjoy exercising, cutting and chopping firewood, and walking our dogs. I am a former President of the Board of Directors of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services Corporation. I am a former President of the Fayette County Bar Association. I am a board member at the East End United Community Center.