T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Chris Berhalter, left, swears in Jacob Leach, right, as a new attorney who is employed by the Shaheen Law Group. Firm owner Michael Shaheen, center, holds the Bible during the ceremony. Leach is a Barnesville native whose mother and brother are optometrists in the village.

BARNESVILLE — The Shaheen Law Group welcomed another attorney to the fold this past week, with hopes for the future and anticipation that the firm will continue to grow and pursue its mission of providing legal services to local residents.

“I’m from Barnesville. I went to OUE (Ohio University Eastern) and the University of Dayton, and I graduated law school this year. I graduated at 22, so that was kind of a bigger thing, and I’m working at Shaheen Law Group with Michael Shaheen and the rest, and I’m excited to work back in the Ohio Valley and help everybody out,” new lawyer Jacob Leach said as he prepared for his swearing-in ceremony held Monday.

Leach added that he has not yet determined which areas of the law he will be concentrating on.

“Well right now I think I’m going to try all the areas out and get familiar, and then I’m going to start to specialize from there,” he said.

Leach said he was attracted to a career in the law for the human element of the legal system.

“It’s just something I’ve been interested in. I was an arts major in school, so I was into more reading and history and that side,” he said, adding that he found legal elements fascinating.

His parents are Melissa and Darren Leach. Melissa and Jacob’s brother are optometrists in the village.

Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Chris Berhalter administered the oath in his courtroom at the Belmont County Courthouse, joined by Shaheen and the other attorneys in the law group.

Shaheen commended Leach’s qualities.

“He’s one of the finest young men that I’ve had the pleasure of coming into contact with. We’re thrilled that he wanted to return to his hometown to start a professional career, and we look forward to a long relationship,” Shaheen said. “His background and familial relationships further strengthen our presence in the western part of the county, and in particular the Barnesville area.”

Shaheen added that Leach had envisioned returning to his hometown to provide professional services, and Shaheen said he expects Leach to spend a significant amount of his time working in SLG’s Barnesville office. Shaheen said his firm now has a total of six total full-time attorneys in two offices and continues to grow.

“We anticipate that he’ll be primarily responsible for the Barnesville office,” Shaheen said of Leach.

The offices are located at 150 W. Main St., St. Clairsville and 119 W. Main St., Barnesville. The firm can be reached at 740-695-4448.