Curtin & Heefner LLP is pleased to announce that former Bucks County Solicitor Joe Khan has joined the firm’s team of litigators as a partner. Mr. Khan is a renowned trial and appellate attorney who has fought to make our communities safer, stronger, and more prosperous. With his broad experience, Mr. Khan will focus his practice on litigation, public sector law, and supporting the firm’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Managing Partner, Frank S. Guarrieri stated, “Curtin & Heefner is ecstatic to add such an accomplished litigator to our bench of experienced trial attorneys. We look forward to our clients benefitting from Joe’s efforts on their behalf.”
Serving the last three plus years as the Solicitor for Bucks County, Mr. Khan was credited with “redefining the role of County Solicitor.” Mr. Khan’s leadership of the County’s first fulltime Law Department substantially improved outcomes and services, saving the County millions of dollars, and modeling best practices on diversity and inclusion. His work as County Solicitor was recognized across the Commonwealth when the Pennsylvania Bar Association honored him as 2022’s Government Lawyer of the Year, and in 2021 when he received the Outstanding Solicitor Award from the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.
In addition to overseeing all litigation for the County, Mr. Khan built partnerships with other public entities to protect voting rights, consumers, and the environment through innovative litigation, including the first lawsuit of its kind against social media companies for fueling a youth mental health crisis. He and his team also successfully drafted innovative legislation, including Pennsylvania’s only used car Lemon Law, and policy reforms on issues such as Fair Chance and Equal Pay hiring – all of which were enacted on a bipartisan basis. Mr. Khan also provided administrative oversight for the Department of Consumer Protection and Weights and Measures as well as the independent Office of the Public Defender.
Prior to his tenure with Bucks County, Mr. Khan worked as a federal and local prosecutor, focusing on public safety and going after public corruption. He served for a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where he resolved high-stakes matters across southeastern Pennsylvania and led the historic City Hall corruption probes in Allentown and Reading. He began his career prosecuting sexual assault, child abuse, and domestic violence in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
Mr. Khan resides in Bucks County with his two sons, whose teams he has coached through Penn Athletics, Doylestown Athletic Association, and Lenape Valley Baseball Association. He is a parent volunteer in the Central Bucks School District and has led several nonprofit boards, including Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse, where he continues to serve on the Governance and Executive Committees. Mr. Khan previously served on the Pennsylvania Governor’s Advisory Commission for Asian Pacific American Affairs and has provided strategic advice to numerous political candidates and elected officials, including his brother, State Representative Tarik Khan.