Hon. Bonnie B. Leadbetter Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Blue Bell Judge Leadbetter was appointed to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania by Governor Ridge in May of 1996, was elected to the Court in 1997, and was retained for an additional ten year term in 2007. She was elected President Judge effective January 7, 2007, for a five year term. In 1999, she was also appointed to the Court of Judicial Discipline for a four year term. From 1990 until she joined the Commonwealth Court, Judge Leadbetter was a shareholder in the law firm of Fineman & Bach, P.C., where she specialized in civil litigation, and also served as a Judge Pro Tempore of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas (1991-96). Judge Leadbetter is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and serves on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. She has taught trial and appellate advocacy in various venues, including Temple Law Schools LL.M. Program in Trial Advocacy and continuing legal education courses sponsored by the American Bar Association Appellate Judges' Conference, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Eastern District Continuing Legal Education Committee, the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Academy of Trial Advocacy. Judge Leadbetter previously served on the Third Circuit Lawyers’ Advisory Committee (1988-91, chair 1991), the Federal Courts Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association (1990), as a director of the Historical Society of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (1990s) and as a member of that Courts Local Rules Advisory Committee. Before entering private practice, Judge Leadbetter was an Assistant District Attorney for Philadelphia County (1971-76) and an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (1976-81). She graduated in 1968 from Rice University and in 1971 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she served as Managing Editor of the Law Review. She has taught trial and appellate advocacy in various venues, including Temple Law School’s LL.M. Program in Trial Advocacy and continuing legal education courses sponsored by the American Bar Association Appellate Judges' Conference, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Eastern District Continuing Legal Education Committee, the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Academy of Trial Advocacy. Judge Leadbetter previously served on the Third Circuit Lawyers' Advisory Committee (1988-91, chair 1991), the Federal Courts Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association (1990), as a director of the Historical Society of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (1990s) and as a member of that Court’s Local Rules Advisory Committee. Before entering private practice, Judge Leadbetter was an Assistant District Attorney for Philadelphia County (1971-76) and an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (1976-81). She graduated in 1968 from Rice University and in 1971 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she served as Managing Editor of the Law Review. She has taught trial and appellate advocacy in various venues, including Temple Law School’s LL.M. Program in Trial Advocacy and continuing legal education courses sponsored by the American Bar Association Appellate Judges' Conference, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Eastern District Continuing Legal Education Committee, the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Academy of Trial Advocacy. Judge Leadbetter previously chaired the Third Circuit Lawyers' Advisory Committee (1991) and the Federal Courts Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association (1990), and served as a director of the Historical Society of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.Before entering private practice, Judge Leadbetter was an Assistant District Attorney for Philadelphia County (1971-76) and an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (1976-81). She graduated in 1968 from Rice University and in 1971 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she served as Managing Editor of the Law Review.