Former state Superior Court Judge Robert A. Graci has taken over as chief counsel of the state’s Judicial Conduct Board from Joseph A. Massa Jr., who will retire at the end of the year.

Graci, who officially assumed his new role on October 1, comes to the JCB from the Harrisburg office of Pittsburgh-based Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, where he chaired the firm’s appellate group.