Welcome to the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

For more than 110 years, the School of Law has prepared students to become excellent attorneys and leaders in both the legal profession and in society. Today, Pitt Law builds on this proud history by training lawyers to take on the opportunities and challenges of 21st century legal practice in the United States and around the world.

At Pitt Law we turn out practice-ready lawyers by providing students with both traditional law school classroom experiences designed to develop and hone analytical and communication skills and with experiential learning opportunities in one of our six clinics, which range in subject area from Environmental Law to Family Law to Health Law. Students who wish to focus their studies can enjoy the numerous benefits of enrolling in one of our five certificate programs, with their opportunities for international externships, instruction in litigation skills by teams of top practicing litigators, or membership on an intellectual property moot court team. Seven joint degree programs, including two partnerships with Carnegie Mellon University, permit students to craft discipline-bridging courses of study in areas including public health, business administration, and international affairs. And Pitt Law students can serve as editors at the award-winning website JURIST, the world’s only Web-based, student-powered legal news source, which is viewed weekly by 100,000 viewers and is based right here at the School of Law.

Of course, no matter how broad a range of learning opportunities a law school provides, the quality of the legal education that students receive depends heavily on the quality and commitment of the law school faculty. The faculty at Pitt Law is made up of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds who share a common commitment to educating their students and advancing knowledge. This group of nationally recognized teacher-scholars brings the law alive for Pitt Law students by challenging students to explore the relevance of law to the issues confronting our society and the world today … and tomorrow.

All this happens at the world-class University of Pittsburgh in today’s Pittsburgh, a city whose rolling hills are “clean and green” and that offers a wide variety of social, cultural, and athletic amenities, as well as a highly sophisticated practicing bar, many of whom are Pitt Law alumni who remain actively engaged in the life of the School. The School of Law is situated in Oakland, the diverse and vibrant neighborhood that is home not only to institutions of higher education, but also to the Carnegie Museums and the grassy lawns and playing fields of Schenley Park. With all it has to offer, Pittsburgh remains an affordable, accessible, and welcoming city.

The University of Pittsburgh School of Law is a uniquely exciting place to be these days, and I encourage you to explore our web site to learn more about this institution and its commitment to training tomorrow’s lawyers.

William M. Carter, Jr.
Dean and Professor of Law

The Family Law clinic assists indigent pro se litigants with family-law issues primarily involving custody, child support, and paternity, as well as secondary family-law issues.

Students who have completed three semesters of law school may enroll, and will be certified by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to provide legal services, including appearing in court on behalf of indigent litigants. The clinic is a two-semester course. The student receives a total of eight credits for the two semesters.

Services to the Public
The public may access clinic services only by and through participating in the Allegheny County Family Court Pro Se program. Only litigants who are declared indigent by the pro se program are eligible to receive clinic services.

Persons seeking legal assistance from the clinic must report to the Family Court building on Ross Street in downtown Pittsburgh on Tuesday or Thursday mornings to enter the pro se process. Litigants must bring proof of their current income from any source. Once the litigant meets all of the court’s requirements for the pro se program, the litigant will meet with a law student.

Fieldwork / Client Representation
On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, students report to the Family Court Building in Pittsburgh. Students interview indigent litigants, determine the relevant legal issues presented by the litigants, and prepare motions to be presented to the court and/or non-motionable pleadings to be filed by the litigants—whichever is indicated by the facts and law. Certain motions prepared by the student will be presented by the student for argument before the assigned judge on a later date.

The goal of the Clinic is to provide students with live-client experiences in order to teach students the skills of interviewing, drafting pleadings, and advocating before the court. Typically, over two semesters the clinic interviews more than 350 clients and makes more than 70 court appearances, providing each student with an intense skills experience. The fieldwork time requirements are critical, and therefore students are cautioned prior to registration to carefully study the course time requirements set forth in the course description before attempting to enroll.

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