Mar 17, 2021 3 min read

Joyce Hatfield Wise announced she is running for judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County.

Hatfield Wise, 56, of Amwell Township, has practiced law for more than 23 years.

Hatfield Wise worked full time while attending the Duquesne University School of Law’s evening program, where she completed her Juris Doctor Degree cum laude in 1997. Two weeks after being sworn into practice, in January 1998, she accepted a position as the first full-time attorney for Washington County Children and Youth Services, a calling she loved.

She retired from the county in September 2016 after more than 20 years of service, including 18 years with CYS. Hatfield Wise currently accepts Washington County court appointments in Orphan’s Court and Juvenile Delinquency matters and engages in the private practice of law.

From January through June in 2018, she provided part-time legal services to Greene County Children and Youth. Hatfield Wise currently provides legal services to survivors of domestic violence in obtaining protection orders, custody, divorce and support.

In 2011, she was named “Government Lawyer of the Year” by the Pennsylvania Bar Association. And also was awarded the John L. Northrop Vocational Service Award by the Rotary Club of Washington County. In 2013, she was presented with a Community Education Award by the League of Women Voters of Washington County, along with with a Certificate of Meritorious Services by the Washington County Bar Association.

She has served as an elected executive board member for the Washington County Bar Association, having completed two, three-year terms. She has chaired or co-chaired the county’s Law Day committee for at least the last 20 years. In 2008, she co-founded ChildFirst Pennsylvania, a Forensic Interview and Court Preparation Training program and in 2011, Pennsylvania was certified as a ChildFirst state.

She is an active member of the Washington County Bar Association and was a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association through 2016 when the county bar elected to end its unit county status. She currently serves as a trustee on the board for the Washington County Bar Foundation.

Hatfield Wise said she believes firmly in a life of service. She and and her husband, Don, have been married 31 years and reside in Amwell Township. They have two adult children.

Hatfield Wise graduated from Chartiers-Houston High School in 1983. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor of science degree in communication and psychology in 1987, and earned her master of science in education degree in psychological services from the University of Pennsylvania in 1988.