Law Dean featured in "The American Experience: Clinton"

School of Law Dean Ken Gormley will be among the experts featured in the two-part, four-hour PBS special, American Experience: Clinton, on Feb. 20-21. Gormley will appear in the second-part of the special airing from 8 to 10 p.m. on Feb. 21 on WQED-TV, Pittsburgh's PBS station. More>

Dean Ken Gormley Presents Seminars in Beijiing, China

Duquesne University School of Law Dean, Ken Gormley visited Beijing, China from January 3rd - January 8th, 2012 at the invitation of the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL), the leading law school in China and the long-time cooperative partner of Duquesne Law School. Professor Frank Y. Liu accompanied Dean Gormley on this remarkable trip, promoting the international exchange of legal education, scholarship and profession. During their visit, Dean Gormley and Professor Liu met with Professor Huang, Jin and other leaders of CUPL, fostering new initiatives for exchange and corporative agreement between Duquesne and CUPL.

2012 Commencement Speaker Announced

Dean Gormley has announced the commencement speaker for June, 2012 will be Judge Thomas Buergenthal. Judge Buergenthal is an internationally famous human rights expert who served for a decade on the International Court of Justice.  As a child, he was a Nazi concentration camp survivor. His award-winning book, "A Lucky Child," chronicles that experience. Judge Buergenthal has been awarded a host of honorary degrees around the globe. Despite the fact that he is in demand as a speaker all over the world, he has graciously agreed to serve as our Commencement speaker as we wrap up the Law School's Centennial year.

Law School News Duquesne Excels at National Trial and Appellate Court Competitions

For the first time, the Law School was invited to participate in the National Civil Trial Competition (NCTC) hosted by Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. The NCTC is a top competition that invites only the top trial advocacy programs in the country to participate. This year, the Duquesne team came in second in the country. We were represented by student-advocates Clancy Boylan, Sarah Bronder, Clarissa Chenoweth and Brendan McKenna. Clarissa Chenoweth won the title of Best Advocate for the overall competition The team was coached by Professor Amelia Michele Joiner.

Our newly formed Appellate Moot Court Board students competed at the Regional ABA Arbitration Competition at the Salmon Chase College of Law in Northern Kentucky. Our team of Frank Stoy, Christina Zanic, Kate Lewis, and Stephen Guzzetti advanced to the final round. This means they now earned a spot in the national championship in Chicago, to be held in January of 2012. Our other team of 2Ls (Kelly McCauley, David James, Andrew Stiffler, and Natalie D'Antonio) also did a fabulous job. The teams were coached by Prof. Pelaez, Sarah Andrews, Keaton Carr, and Abbi Marusic.

Trial team members Sara Brown, Kevin Marshall, Michael Megrey and Lauren Oelrich recently represented the Law School in the Buffalo Niagara Mock Trial Invitational Competition. The Buffalo Niagara trial competition is the largest invitational competition in the country and is touted as inviting superior trial teams from all over the country. The competition is considered one of the best in the business of showcasing advocacy skills. The team, which was coached by Professor S. Michael Streib, competed with 30 schools from across the nation. Teams from the New England area, Washington, Texas, Georgia, Illinois and others were thoroughly impressed by the talent displayed by our students. Duquesne's trial team finished as quarter-finalists in this prestigious competition.

Celebrate 100 Years of Duquesne Women in the Law

Linda L. Kelly - PA Attorney GeneralOn Tuesday, October 18 we celebrated 100 Years of Duquesne Women in the Law. Our keynote speaker was Linda L. Kelly L'75, PA Attorney General. We honored Judge Donetta W. Ambrose, L'70, with the Carol Los Mansmann Award for Distinguished Public Service. Details>

Justice Antonin Scalia Centennial Address

Thank you to everyone who attended the Centennial Address featuring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Saturday, September 24, 2011.
Read more in the Duquesne University Times >

Law School Hosts Justice Alito at Vatican City Program

The School of Law recently hosted U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito as the distinguished lecturer at its annual Summer Study in Vatican City-Rome program. Alito taught comparative constitutional law to Duquesne and other law students, University alumni and members of the bench and bar as part of the program. DU Times pictures

Where Big Firm Partners Went to Law School - the National Jurist

The National Jurist recently published a list of where big firm partners went to law school. Duquesne School of Law ranked 85th on the list.

Century Club of Distinguished Duquesne University Alumni Inducts the Honorable Cynthia A. Baldwin

The Century Club of Distinguished Duquesne University Alumni inducted four new members in September, including the Honorable Cynthia A. Baldwin (L'80).  Press release>

Law School Honors Alumni Service as Judges

The School of Law’s lobby was packed with more than 150 faculty, staff, alumni and friends who had gathered for the unveiling of the new Judges Wall, created to honor the school’s graduates who have and are serving as judges in a court of record. More>

Dean Gormley's ‘Death of American Virtue’ Wins ABA Gavel Award

Duquesne University School of Law Dean Ken Gormley has received one of the prestigious 2011 American Bar Association (ABA) Gavel Awards for his book, The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr, earning the honorable mention designation (second place) in the book category. Press release

Endowed Fund at Duquesne Law School Honors Murrays, Promotes Scholarship

The School of Law will be the recipient of a newly established $1.2 million endowment fund, thanks to Chancellor and Professor of Law John E. Murray Jr. Murray designated the funding, which originated from a grant the Richard King Mellon Foundation made in 2001 in honor of his service to the university and community, to leave an important legacy during the School’s centennial year. The Dr. John and Liz Murray Endowed Fund for Scholarly Development will enhance the scholarly environment and culture in Duquesne’s School of Law. Press release

Governor Tom Corbett speaks at 2011 Commencement

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett served as the Law School's Centennial Commencement Speaker on June 5, 2011.

Trial Advocacy and Moot Court Successes in 2011

Attorney General of the United States, Eric H. Holder, Jr., spoke to overflow crowd at event paying tribute to Law School’s Centennial, on February 23, 2011

Text of General Holder's Speech>

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Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito to Serve as Distinguished Lecturer at Summer Study Program in Rome

United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito will serve as the distinguished lecturer at the Duquesne University School of Law’s Summer Study of Law in Rome in July as part of the school’s Centennial celebration.

Alito will present lectures to Duquesne law students and law alumni on the topic of comparative constitutional law at the summer program in July 2011. More details>

Law School Sets Gold Standard in Hosting Tournament of Champions

The Duquesne University School of Law recently hosted 16 of the best trial moot court programs in the nation at the prestigious National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) 2010 Tournament of Champions. The most elite trial competition in the country, the NITA Tournament was held from Oct. 27-30.

As part of the Duquesne team's strong performance, Keaton Carr (3D) received the Best Advocate award for the preliminary rounds, and the Law School team was ranked 6th out of 16 schools, an incredible honor.  Read more in the DU Times and the Post-Gazette.

Duquesne Law School's Bar Pass Rate Remains Strong

Congratulations to all of our recent graduates who achieved this important milestone, by passing the bar examination in Pennsylvania and other states!

One hundred forty-seven Duquesne graduates from the class of 2010 passed the July 2010 Pennsylvania Bar Examination on their first attempt.  Joining them are another ten graduates from prior years, who achieved this milestone on their second or subsequent attempt.  Duquesne’s overall pass rate (84.41%) places Duquesne fourth out of ten law schools in the tri-state area (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware) among those schools whose graduates take the bar exam in Pennsylvania.  More information >

Law School Centennial Celebration Will Feature Attorney General Eric Holder and Justice Antonin Scalia

The Duquesne University School of Law will host U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on September 24, 2011 as part of its Centennial celebration in 2011.

“We intend to mark the Centennial of the law school with a series of major events, paying tribute to the institution’s enormous contributions to the region and to the legal profession over the past century,” said Law School Dean Ken Gormley. “We are honored that Attorney General Holder has agreed to serve as the kick-off speaker for our Centennial this winter, and that Justice Scalia has agreed to join us as our keynote speaker for the culminating, gala event in September.”    Press release >

Academic Excellence Program Names First Director

Dean Gormley recently announced that, after a very competitive search process, the Law School has hired Robert Perkins Esq. to serve as its first Director of the Academic Excellence Program.  That program, made possible by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, will provide one-on-one assistance to students whose academic performance during First Year was not as strong as they had wished, in order to provide them with the opportunity to excel in subsequent law school classes and on the Bar Exam.  More>

Coach Tomlin and Dean Gormley

Dean Ken Gormley joins Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin for a Terrible Towel/Death of American Virtue signing.
The Terrible Towel will be donated to the Public Interest Law Association to raise money at their annual silent auction fundraiser in the spring.

President Charles Dougherty, Dean Ken Gormley, and Chancellor John Murray at the President's Reception for Dean Gormley at the Duquesne Club.

Dean Gormley outlines his vision for the Law School >

Duquesne ranked among best public interest law schools

The Winter 2011 edition of preLaw Magazine named Duquesne University School of Law among the best public interest law schools, a great honor in the spirit of our motto, "the welfare of the people is the highest law".

DU Law School Ranked in Top 100 Schools by Super Lawyers Magazine

Duquesne University has been included in the inaugural Super Lawyers U.S. Law School Rankings. The School of Law ranked 100 out of 180 schools on the list and nearly 170 alumni named to the 2009 Super Lawyers list.

First Charles Hamilton Houston Scholar Announced

The Duquesne University School of Law is pleased to announce that Simone Delerme has been selected as the first Charles Hamilton Houston Scholar.  This minority scholar program was established by the School of Law in honor of civil rights legend Charles Hamilton Houston, the law professor and mentor of the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American to sit on the nation's highest court.

Press release

Law School Establishes Pilot Academic Excellence Program

Duquesne University School of Law has received funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, in the amount of $85,000, to launch a new Academic Excellence Program.  These funds will used to enhance the Law School's already-prestigious program in research and writing by providing one-on-one academic support to those students who may be be "at risk" of under-performing after the First Year of study.

Specifically, the Academic Excellence Program will identify and support “at-risk” students to improve their performance during the upper-level years of Law School.  More broadly, the Academic Excellence Program is designed to help at-risk students develop the academic and analytical skills necessary to be successful law students and ensure access to the profession to all students regardless of race, gender, age, disability, and socio-economic background.  This pilot program will dovetail with the Legal Research & Writing Program and the Minority Recruitment and Retention Program at the Law School.  As well, it will provide additional support to, and complement, the Bar Exam Preparation Program so that all graduates of the Law School can achieve success on the Bar Exam and be equipped to excel in the practice of law.

Professor Ray Sekula was recently appointed by the PA Supreme Court to serve as a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Examiners for a term of 3 years.  The Board oversees admission of aspiring lawyers to the Pennsylvania Bar, emphasizing the importance of professional responsibility, competence, and character in the legal profession.

Assistant Professor Amelia Michele Joiner was honored on July 14 by the New Pittsburgh Courier as one of its 2010 Women of Excellence. Professor Joiner was selected for this honor by the Courier’s readership because of her “desire to explore, ability to build work anew, and creativity to reinvent traditions”.  She teaches contracts and trial advocacy at the Law School, and is the recipient of the DLAA 2009 Outstanding Achievement Award.

Congratulations Graduates - Law School Commencement 2010

On Sunday, June 6 the Law School celebrated the graduation of our students.  The graduation speaker was Frank Coonelly, President of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Mr. Coonelly, who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Pirates' ballclub, formerly served as lawyer for Major League Baseball, handling labor negotiations and collective bargaining agreements for the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball.  Mr. Coonelly is a graduate of Penn State University and received his Juris Doctorate from Catholic University Law School, where he earned the Faculty Award for graduating with the highest grade point average.

Alumnus Honored

The Law School Community is grateful to Larry Ammon and Kathleen Gaberson, parents of deceased alumnus, Matthew Ammon, L'99. To honor Matthew, Larry and Kathy have endowed a scholarship fund to support law school students. The fund has been paid in full and the first scholarship award should be distributed in Academic Year 2010-2011.

Excellence in Trial Advocacy Recognized

The Duquesne University School of Law National Trial team (Keaton Carr, Cassidy Neal, David Renner) receiving the Murray S. Love Memorial Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy from Timothy Conboy, Esquire, President, PA Association for Justice (formerly PA Trial Lawyers Association).

Unemployment Compensation Clinic Receives Award

The Unemployment Compensation Clinic, led by Supervising Attorney Michael Simon (L’ 80),  recently received a 2010 Pennsylvania Bar Association Pro Bono Award.  The award recognizes attorneys and judges who have made exceptional contributions to improve civil legal aid in the Commonwealth.  The award ceremony was held on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at the Allegheny County Bar Association, Public Service Committee Volunteer Appreciation Event at the Reed Smith Centre.

During 2009-2010,  the students in the Unemployment Compensation Clinic handled 87 clients at Unemployment Compensation referee hearings throughout the Greater Pittsburgh region.  This is the largest number of clients ever served by the Unemployment Compensation Law Clinic in its history.

The following  members of the Law School community will also be receiving recognition at the event for their outstanding commitment to providing legal services to the poor:   Honorable Joseph M. James (adjunct faculty), Honorable Michael E. McCarthy (L'84), Deborah Kutzavitch (L'02), and Nicole Scialabba (L'06).