George Mitchell ’18

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George Mitchell ‘18 is a first-generation lawyer who grew up watching his father fix pipes, not argue cases. Today he's helping shape public health policy for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and he'll tell you the two aren't as different as they sound.

Mitchell serves as assistant counsel at the Pennsylvania Department of Health, a role he's held for nearly eight years. On any given day, he might be advising the Medical Marijuana Program, working through a question involving vital records, handling human resources matters for the executive office, or navigating enforcement under the Clean Indoor Air Act. He also supports the Temporary Health Care Staffing Agency Program and Pennsylvania's Mothers' Milk Bank Program. He had no idea any of it was waiting for him when he walked through the doors of Widener University Commonwealth Law School in 2015.

"I saw firsthand that government attorneys are solving real problems that directly affect people's lives," Mitchell said. "It challenged a lot of the stereotypes I had about government work."

The breadth of what he covers would surprise most people who picture government legal work as narrow or repetitive. His work often involves tackling novel legal questions where the answer isn’t readily apparent, demanding creativity and a broad understanding of the law. He has a term for the approach the work demands.

"I jokingly refer to it as 'using every part of the buffalo,'" Mitchell said. "Sometimes the answer isn't found in one provision; it's found by understanding the broader legal framework and pulling together multiple authorities to solve the problem in front of you."

Mitchell grew up in Milford, Pennsylvania, a small town in Pike County tucked in the Pocono Mountains. He was one of only a few people in his family to attend college, and when he enrolled at East Stroudsburg University to study political science, the legal profession was more of an aspiration than a roadmap. But the seeds had been planted earlier than that.

In high school, Mitchell was part of an unconventional program called "Combo," a hybrid English and Government class that kept the same group of students together from freshman through junior year. Forget multiple choice tests. The focus was debates, presentations, public outreach and learning to defend a position in front of a room full of people.

"Teachers like Mrs. Nicole Cosentino and Mrs. Susan Curtin really encouraged us to think critically," Mitchell said. "Combined with my interests in government and politics, law became a natural path."

After graduating from East Stroudsburg with a degree in political science and a minor in English, Mitchell enrolled at Widener Law Commonwealth in 2015, part of the school's first class following its separation from Widener Delaware Law School. The smaller class size created a tight-knit environment where professors were accessible and students could get involved. A strong scholarship package didn't hurt either.

"The school invested in me from the beginning," Mitchell said. "That investment gave me the opportunity to focus on my education and take advantage of experiences that ultimately helped shape my career."

Mitchell arrived at law school expecting to pursue corporate law. That plan didn't survive his first summer internship. In 2016, he interned with the Office of General Counsel at the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. It was his first real look at what government lawyers do.

The following summer, he interned at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Mitchell had worked as a plumber's apprentice for his father's business, G.M. Plumbing and Heating, during college. Suddenly, the regulatory work he was doing had a face: small business owners and tradespeople navigating rules that affected their livelihoods every day.

"My experience working for my father's plumbing business helped me understand the real-world impact of the legal and regulatory work we were doing," he said.

Back on campus, Professor Mary Kate Kearney made a lasting impression. Mitchell took her contracts course as a first-year student, then returned for her children and the law seminar, where he wrote a paper examining whether Pennsylvania should enact death with dignity legislation for minors, not exactly a conventional law school paper topic. She encouraged him to go for it anyway. He still has the final paper and her comments.

"What I remember most is that she not only praised the research and analysis, but also my ability to present such a difficult subject in a way that encouraged thoughtful discussion," Mitchell said. "That experience gave me confidence in my ability to tackle complex and controversial legal issues."

After graduating in 2018, Mitchell made a decision: pass the bar first and give it everything he had. He treated studying like a full-time job, putting in eight to ten hours a day, while working through the Office of General Counsel hiring process on the side. Then everything clicked at once. On a Friday, he found out he passed the bar. The following Tuesday, he had his final interview with the Pennsylvania Department of Health. On Wednesday, he got the call with a job offer. He's been there ever since.

Some of the best professional development doesn't happen in a classroom. Mitchell credits fellow Widener Law Commonwealth alumnus Mark Kovalcin '17, who joined the Department of Health not long after he did, with pushing him to become a stronger legal writer and more rigorous thinker. It's the kind of honest feedback that's hard to find and easy to undervalue.

That same spirit of giving back shapes how Mitchell shows up beyond the Department of Health. He coaches trial advocacy and moot court, has served as auctioneer for the school's Public Interest Auction and sits on the Alumni Advisory Board. He volunteers with Wills for Heroes and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and is active in the broader legal community through the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Bar Leadership Institute and the Young Lawyers Division Executive Councils for both the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Dauphin County Bar Association.

It all comes back to something Mitchell learned the hard way: nobody gets there alone.

"I'm a first-generation lawyer," Mitchell said. "When I entered law school, I really had no roadmap for how to navigate the profession. Because of that, I've always tried to be the resource for students that I wish I had when I was starting out."

Interview conducted in Summer 2026.