Mission

It is the mission of Duquesne University School of Law to train lawyers to a high degree of professional skill with a special, Catholic sensitivity to ethical and moral concerns.

The Duquesne lawyer knows the law both in a comprehensive fashion and increasingly in a range of highly specialized areas such as tax and corporate law, litigation, environmental law, international law and the law of electronic commerce.
The Duquesne lawyer is well-trained in the law, but also understands the difference between what the law allows us to do and what we should do — the difference between what is legal in a given situation and what is right.
He or she will always be highly competent in the details of the law, but more than that, will temper this technical skill with wisdom, compassion and prudence.
We train professionals in the law at Duquesne, but we also train professionals with a sense of justice.

Philosophy and Objectives

In pursuing Duquesne University’s educational philosophy, the School of Law espouses the belief that the product of education is the person of true character who thinks, judges and acts constantly and consistently in accordance with right reason within a view to one’s ultimate end. It aims to facilitate the development of purposeful character, intellectual accomplishment, emotional and social maturity and professional efficiency. It understands that the adequate preparation of a student for the legal profession involves the development of a special character, a special competency and a special disposition.

Duquesne School of Law has particular objectives which are:

To direct and assist the student in the acquisition of fundamental principles of law and of an awareness of the influence of political, social and economic forces on particular applications of such principles;
To stimulate and encourage the student to form habits of sound judgment based upon complete analysis, thorough research and proper evaluation;
To develop facility in legal research by acquainting and familiarizing the student with proper use of computer-assisted legal information systems and legal publications including the various citations, digests, encyclopedias and case annotations;
To develop facility in legal writing through the preparation of legal memoranda, pleadings and various forms of legal documents;
To awaken in the student a proper respect for civil authority, a sincere love of truth, a deep sense of justice, a tempering spirit of equity and an enduring habit of fortitude;
To engender in the student an abiding consciousness of the social obligation of an attorney as an officer of the court, of the fiduciary nature of the client–attorney relationship, and of the moral responsibility of the individual attorney.