Oct 26, 2012 2 min read

For nearly 30 years, attorney Jeff Watson has been a familiar face among people dealing with legal issues in the county. In addition to his private practice, Watson, 50, of Buffalo Township, has had a long tenure with the Washington County Court system as well as many municipalities he served as solicitor. Watson, however, has decided to accept a position with the Pennsylvania Utility Commission as its new administrative law judge, replacing Judge John Corbett Jr., who retired earlier this year. Watson will begin his new duties next week. “It’s quite an honor,” said Watson, who admits that he will definitely miss the people of the county, especially county court staff. “They are the best public employees that anyone can find.” In his new position, Watson will preside over formal hearings in contested matters as well as some pubic input hearings involving proposed utility rate increases and other matters of interest to consumers of public utilities. Watson served the court as the juvenile court master from 1992 through 2005 and served as the solicitor for the city of Washington from 1990 through 2006. Has also served as legal counsel for the Washington County Tax Revenue Department and various municipalities throughout Washington County, including Marianna and McDonald boroughs, and North Strabane, Buffalo and Blaine townships. He most recently served Washington County as the criminal conflicts attorney, serving as court-appointed counsel for defendants in high-profile cases, including a defendant charged in 2003 for the 1977 homicide of a 16-year-old Charleroi teenager, and one of the defendants charged in the 2008 killings of a Carroll Township couple. In 2005, unsuccessfully ran for a Washington County judicial seat when Judges John DiSalle and Janet Moschetta Bell were ultimately elected. Watson prides himself on his blue-collar background and attributes his success to his father, the late Charles Watson, who worked in the steel mills, and his homemaker mother, Jackie. “Without their love and support, I wouldn’t have made it this far,” he said. Watson is married and he and his wife have an 11-year-old son, Matthew Julian Watson.