from staff
Fourth Judicial Circuit Public Defender Matt Shirk announces new hires in the Green Cove Springs and Jacksonville offices.
New to the Clay County Office of the Public Defender are an attorney, a legal assistant and a mentor:
• Darcy Galnor. The former prosecutor and private practitioner became assistant public defender in Clay County Aug. 9 and will handle Juvenile Court. Galnor is a 2004 graduate of Florida Coastal School of Law. After her admittance to the Bar, she served as an assistant state attorney until 2008 and then joined a private Jacksonville firm. Before entering law, Galnor earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio State University and worked as a newspaper reporter for the Battle Creek, Mich., “Enquirer,” covering the education and police
beats.
• Sheila Pickman. Pickman joined the Clay County Public Defender Office as Secretary Two, effective July 1. A May graduate of Florida State College at Jacksonville, she earned her associate’s degree and certification as a paralegal, completing an internship in the Public Defender’s Office. During that three-month internship, the Jacksonville native also gained experience as a witness interviewer.
• Raj Gupta. Serving in a newly created role, Gupta became the director of juvenile mentoring in Clay County in June. The ordained minister also teaches a juvenile behavior modification program and leads a nonprofit called Life Interrupted. Additionally, he is active in Guardian ad Litem, Meninak and the Justice Coalition. He earned a B.A. from UCLA and a doctorate in divinity from Trinity Seminary School. For 15 years, the New York native was an executive in the music industry. Gupta and his wife have two children and reside in Fleming Island.
The Jacksonville office welcomes two new Assistant Public Defenders:
• Lisa Haskins. A Jacksonville native, Haskins joined the Juvenile Unit as assistant public defender in June. She is a 2009 graduate of The Thomas M. Cooley Law School and was admitted to the Florida Bar in April. Her prior legal experience includes a clerkship at the McGuireWoods firm in Jacksonville and an internship with the Public Defender Investigations Unit. Haskins earned her undergraduate degree from the University of North Florida. In her spare time, she plays locally in a competitive coed softball league.
• Chris Blaisdell. For the past six years, Blaisdell has served as an assistant state attorney in Brevard County. He brings prosecutorial experience to the Felony Court Unit of the Public Defender Office, where he started in July. He earned both his bachelor’s and law degrees from Tulane University in New Orleans. He has lived in six other states as he comes from an Air Force family.