(Phoenix, Ariz. – May 2, 2007) The Pinal County Board of Supervisors today voted 3-0 to appoint James P. Walsh as the new Pinal County Attorney. Walsh will be sworn into office on Friday, May 18. He will replace current County Attorney Robert Carter Olson, who has been appointed to the Pinal County Superior Court by the Governor.
Walsh, of Oracle, had served as Chief Deputy Attorney General, a position he was appointed to by Attorney General Terry Goddard in March 2004. He most recently was serving as the Office’s Special Counsel for Southern Arizona. Walsh also held positions as Chief Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Unit Chief and Special Counsel to the Attorney General.
Prior to joining the Attorney General’s office in June 2003, Walsh was a solo practitioner concentrating on legislative representation, governmental relations and alternative dispute resolution.
Walsh earned his law degree at the University of Chicago Law School and received formal mediator training from the Harvard Law School’s Mediation Workshop. He served as an Arizona State Senator from 1975 to 1976 and also had worked as an assistant to Mayor Terry Goddard. Walsh served on the Board of the Arizona Dispute Resolution Association (ADRA) and was the ADRA President in 1997. Walsh is married to Judy Walsh, and they have three grown children and four grandchildren.
The swearing in ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. on May 18. It will be a joint ceremony with Olson and will be held at the Pinal County Courthouse in Florence, Ariz.