Steve Aichele, former chair of Phila. firm Saul Ewing, leaves cabinet post in Corbett administration

Gov. Tom Corbett’s former chief counsel and chief of staff, Steve Aichele, has left his

cabinet position after nearly two-and-a-half years on the job, the administration announced this week.

Steve Aichele, husband of state Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele, is a respected real estate attorney who formerly chaired the Philadelphia law firm Saul Ewing.

For the past 31 months, Steve Aichele has served as both chief counsel for the Corbett administration and chief of staff to the governor.

Aichele is being replaced by Leslie Gromis Baker, a Reading, Berks County native and current Pittsburgh resident who now serves as Corbett’s liaison with the federal government in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C.

“Steve has provided a spark and energy to the administration, and staff members will long remember this enthusiasm and optimism,” Corbett said in a July 17 statement released by his office. “I’m grateful that Steve, who initially came on board as general counsel and, upon Bill Ward’s departure for a judicial post, took on the new responsibilities of chief of staff and dove in with enthusiasm and ambition into his duties.”

Ward left the Corbett administration in May 2012 to become a judge on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, according to past news reports.

Aichele previously practiced with Philadelphia’s Saul Ewing, chairing that law firm’s Project and Resource Development Department and the Government Involvement Committee, according to information on the website for State Street Advisors, which bills itself as Pennsylvania’s premier public policy consultant group.

During his legal career, the site reported, Aichele represented developers, lenders and governmental entities in land use, zoning, development, financing, construction and leasing issues.

Aichele also participated in the acquisition, development, and management of various real estate projects across the state, according to the website.

Aichele also previously worked as an adjunct law professor at Temple University in Philadelphia and has lectured on legal topics for the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

Aichele has been expected to go back into private practice but specifics were not yet readily available.