'Yankee work ethic' key for Norwin grad involved in high-profile court cases

As the teenage editor of the Norwin High School yearbook back in the 1990s, A.J. Balbo was all about the details.

Nearly three decades later, he continues that sharp focus as he works as a high-profile lawyer in Georgia.

Balbo, a North Huntingdon native, has carved a legal practice that has gained national attention through his representation of one of the three men charged in the February 2020 shooting of a black man in rural Georgia. He also represented a member of the extremist group the Oath Keepers charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“It’s unreal to see the case you’re on discussed on TV,” Balbo told the Tribune-Review.

Balbo graduated from Norwin in 1994. He went on to complete his undergraduate education from Duquesne University and his law degree from Fordham Law School in New York.

Balbo served four years with the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division, serving tours of duty in Kuwait and Iraq, where he earned a Bronze Star before returning to his adopted home in Georgia.

His law practice is based in Richmond Hill, a suburb of Savannah, where his work recently made national news.

Balbo served as the defense lawyer for Greg McMichael, a 66-year-old former police officer who along with his son and another man were charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who police say was chased and killed by his white assailants. McMichael was convicted last year in state court of murder and was sentenced in August to life in prison for federal hate crimes related to Arbery’s shooting.

Balbo was appointed by the federal court system to represent McMichael and serves as the private attorney for 44-year-old Brian Ulrich, of Georgia, a member of the Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy for planning and participating in the U.S. Capitol attack.

Ulrich pleaded guilty in April and is awaiting sentencing after he agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Justice Department in its ongoing investigation.

“It’s surreal. CNN was discussing my case in court. Jesse Jackson showed up to watch the (Arbery) proceeding. I firmly believe the court system is where everyone fills a role. As a defense attorney, my job is to protect the law. I believe in the system,” Balbo said.

At Norwin, Balbo was a student representative to the school board and performed in the student musicals.

Barbara Shrump, a retired English teacher at Norwin, served as the adviser to the yearbook staff and worked closely with Balbo. She said she’s not surprised by his success.

“He was very hard working and very enthusiastic. He was someone you could count on,” Shrump said. “If you had said to me when he was a senior he will go to law school and down the line he would represent someone from the national news, I would not be surprised.”

Balbo said he never envisioned this life path while growing up in Westmoreland County.

Balbo met his wife, Christy, in Pittsburgh while both were students at Duquesne. They have two sons: 18-year-old A.J. Jr., who will attend Fordham University this fall; and 16-year-old Patrick.

Balbo still has some extended family and friends in western Pennsylvania and his local roots continue to shape his life and career.

“There is something to be said for not just a Yankee work ethic but a Western Pennsylvania work ethic. That is not everywhere,” Balbo said.

Balbo and his son A.J. traveled to Pittsburgh earlier this month to attend Steelers training camp near Latrobe. They drove though North Huntingdon to see his old neighborhood and school, and took in some sights in Pittsburgh during the weekend getaway.

“I wonder what life would have been if I practiced law in New York or Pittsburgh. Maybe I’d have big cases that make the news,” Balbo said.

This story was updated Aug. 29, 2022, to clarify Brian Ulrich’s ties to the Oath Keepers.