Paul Edger ’11
Senior Deputy Attorney General in Charge, Harrisburg Region, PA Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection
Paul Edger may have graduated in 2011, but as active as he is on the Widener Law Commonwealth campus, it’s almost as if he never left!
As an adjunct professor, current president of the alumni association, and working with several organizations connected to the law school, he has a consistent presence. Edger has been instrumental in supporting Wills for Heroes, a free service that provides wills and other vital documents for first responders, veterans and their spouses. At the most recent Wills for Heroes event at WLC, he was presented the 2022 Pro Bono award for legal assistance efforts from the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA). Edger has also served as the state chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Young Lawyer Division, implementing policies directed at helping law students and younger attorneys succeed in the profession. He gives back to the community by serving as chairman of the board of director for Safe Harbour, a nonprofit organization that provides housing services for the homeless and near homeless in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. In that capacity, Edger has been instrumental in spearheading a 40-unit low-income housing community in Carlisle.
Edger currently serves as the senior deputy attorney general in charge of the Harrisburg region at the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
As a student, he knew early on he wanted to become actively involved on campus. In his first year, he was elected as a 1L representative for the Student Bar Association and later became the PBA representative for WLC, which led him to additional leadership positions.
Edger admitted that while he didn’t have a favorite professor, he did share a humorous story about Professor John Capowski in his civil procedure class, who would always play music in the beginning of his class. “There were no classes I regretted, no professors that I would think, ‘I wish I didn’t take this class.’ Everybody had their own style, which helped me recall information in the real world, such as when I was in a trial and flashed back to class.”
A few years after graduation, Edger worked with other alumni to create WLC’s alumni association. He explains the association is not just for alumni, but students as well.
“For our students, it’s really to give them a window that they can use if they’re looking for their career. We want to make it that if they need a mentor, if they’re looking for a prospective employer, if they just want to talk with someone and ask, ‘what do I do in this circumstance?’” Edger explained. “We’ve all had very different legal careers, and our hope is that someone (from the association) will give them the answer that’s best situated to them.”
As far as his advice to prospective and current students, Edger recommends approaching law school as a marathon and not a race.
“When I started law school, I remember my mom and dad moved me into my apartment, and my father took my whiteboard and just wrote down, ‘take it one day at a time,’ out of the blue. Every day I saw that, and it really helped keep me grounded,” he explained. “The assignment for this class, for this day, for this week, and if you break it down into smaller increments, it’s not as scary. That quote is what I truly believe kept me grounded in studying and ultimately passing the bar.”
Edger also recommends students to be mindful of their time and implement healthy boundaries for yourself, a good practice to continue in your law career.
“Let’s be honest, attorneys need to take care of themselves because of the pressure of the job and the pressure of the clients we serve. Find things that you like to do, find things you want to do outside of work, put boundaries up,” he said. “Don’t answer your phone at 11 p.m. unless the job really calls for that. For me, after 5 p.m. work is there, and I will come back to it later on, but that’s time with my family. If I didn’t have those boundaries, I don’t know where I’d be.”
Be sure to check out episode #58 of our podcast to hear more about Edger’s law school experience and ways alumni can connect with the Widener Law Commonwealth community!
Interview conducted in Winter 2023.
