Wilkes Barre, PA — Albert Joseph Flora Jr., is being recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Top Attorney in the field of Law and acknowledges him of his leadership, dedication, and commitment with Al Flora Jr. Law Firm.
Having garnered a laudable reputation for his prolific legal career, Mr. Flora has devoted much of his 43 years concentrating on criminal defense at the trial and appellate levels in federal and state courts. In addition to maintaining a private law practice, Mr. Flora was an Assistant Public Defender for Luzerne County, Pa. having joined that office in 1980. During his tenure there, he was responsible for handling capital and non-capital homicide cases and appeals. In 1990, he became the First Assistant and in 2010, he was appointed Chief Public Defender. As Chief Defender, one of his most significant accomplishments was the creation of a juvenile defender unit which was recognized as a state model for juvenile defense representation.
Throughout his distinguished career, Mr. Flora has gained valuable experience arguing appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Pa. Supreme and Superior Courts. He has handled over 2,000 criminal cases and tried to verdict well over 100, including 6 capital murder cases. Internationally renowned, Mr. Flora has gained a wealth of attention representing many of his clients who have been judges, lawyers, and professional people. Among many of his clients, he represented George Banks who in 1982 killed 13 people; and Mark Ciavarella, Jr., who as a Pennsylvania State Juvenile Court Judge, was charged by the federal government with bribery and extortion out of what has become known as the “Kids for Cash” scandal. Mr. Flora has also successfully represented plaintiffs in complex civil cases involving architectural, engineering, and accounting malpractice, construction defects, and civil rights cases involving police misconduct and employment discrimination.
Mr. Flora’s professional legal career began when he received his Juris Doctorate of Law from the University of Baltimore School of Law. Prior to this, he completed his undergraduate studies with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Lycoming College.
Throughout his extensive career, Mr. Flora has remained abreast of the latest developments in his field by maintaining active memberships with the Pennsylvania Bar Association-Ethics Committee, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Luzerne County Bar Association-Criminal Law and Criminal Defense Committees. As a former member of the Luzerne County Juvenile Justice Task Force, he has lectured on the juvenile justice system to over 1,000 school teachers at in-service programs and high school and college students. He is a highly sought after lecturer and has been invited in the past by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Correale Stevens to lecture on criminal investigations as part of a law enforcement program, which appeared on the Pennsylvania Cable News Network. He has also been invited lecturer on criminal law and professional ethics at continuing education programs for criminal defense lawyers and state and federal public defenders.
In light of his professional excellence, Mr. Flora is the recipient of many awards and accolades including his Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV. He also received the President and Director’s Commendation from the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for his outstanding contributions as Chief Public Defender for Luzerne County. In 2005, he was designated and appointed by Federal District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania as “learned counsel” under 18 U.S.C. 3599 (d) in Federal Habeas Corpus proceeding arising from the death sentence imposed upon conviction in state court. Later, in 2014, Mr. Flora appeared in the documentary series “Sprees that Shocked the World” on the Twofour Broadcast Network which aired in the United Kingdom. His appearance dealt with his representation in 1982 of mass murderer George Banks. He also appeared in a documentary titled “What Jennifer Knew” broadcast by the Pennsylvania and Connecticut Public Television Networks and co-sponsored by the American Judges Association. In 2017, the Pa. Bar Association’s Judicial Evaluation Commission gave Mr. Flora a “Recommended” rating for him to be a candidate for the Superior Court of Pa.