Steven V. Turner was appointed Chief Counsel to the Department of State on November 9, 2009. In this capacity, Mr. Turner advises the Secretary of the Commonwealth on legal matters involving the full range of the Department's operations.

Prior to joining the Department, Mr. Turner served as Chief Counsel to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency from August 2007 through October 2009. From 2004 until August 2007, he served as Chief Counsel to the Office of Inspector General and was then appointed Deputy General Counsel in January 2000 and was reappointed to that post in January 2003. He has served as the General Counsel's liaison with the Chief Counsel to the Insurance Department and the Departments of Revenue and State. In addition, he has served as counsel to the Public Employee Retirement Commission.

Other Commonwealth positions for Mr. Turner have included a prior assignment at the Department of State as Chief Counsel from June 1999 to January 2000. He was a prosecuting attorney for the Department's Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs and also served as a Senior Deputy Inspector General for the Office of Inspector General. Before joining the Commonwealth, Mr. Turner served as a Special Assistant in the United States Attorney's Office in Pittsburgh.

Mr. Turner volunteered at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for many years, primarily working with children and families in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. He received the 1992 Philadelphia Bar Association Craig M. Perry Community Service Award for his volunteer work performed at CHOP. He is a domestic violence advocate, trainer and pro bono Protection From Abuse attorney for the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg's Domestic Violence Legal Clinic, a co-founder of YWCA's Men Against Domestic Violence Program and a member of the Dauphin County Domestic Task Force. Mr. Turner received the Pennsylvania Bar Association Government Lawyer of the Year Award in 2006.

Mr. Turner earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Redlands in Redlands, California in 1979 and his Juris Doctor from Temple University School of Law in 1984.

Mr. Turner resides in Dauphin County with his wife, Carol, and their children.