Tribone Center for Clinical Legal Education

Students in the Family Law Clinic work under the supervision of a family law attorney to represent income-qualified clients with cases involving domestic abuse, divorce settlement, child support and child custody.

Students have opportunities to fully engage in client representation under Pennsylvania's student practice rules in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County. The clinic provides live-client experiences and teaches students the skills of interviewing, counseling, negotiation, drafting pleadings and advocating before the court with a strong emphasis on ethical standards.

Two-Semester Graded Course

Credits: 6 (3 academic credits, 3 non-classroom credits)

Co-requisite:  Evidence (may be taken in fall or spring)

Enrollment: 8 Students

Clinic Hours to Be Completed: 270 Hours (minimum 10 hours per week)

Class Meeting Time: Wednesday - 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Class Location: Room 201, Tribone Building

Office Hours: Wednesday and Friday 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. and By Appt. via Zoom or in-person, please request via e-mail.

Katherine L. W. Norton, Esq.
Supervising Attorney
Director of Clinical Legal Education and International Programs and Assistant Professor

The Federal Litigation Clinic focuses on the litigation of actual cases pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Many of the cases involve the representation of inmates in cases that the federal courts have identified as potentially meritorious. The representation is undertaken pursuant to the courts' student practice rules, with the consent of the clients and subject to the supervision of an experienced attorney.

Students who participate have a strong interest in constitutional law, criminal law, and federal civil and appellate procedure. The clinic involves an average workload of 10 hours per week but this may be concentrated into certain portions of the semester based on court deadlines.

Two-Semester Graded Course

Credits: 4 (2 academic credits, 2 non-classroom credits)

Co-requisite: Constitutional Law, Evidence (may be taken in fall or spring)

Enrollment: 6 Students

Clinic Hours to Be Completed: 90 Hours per semester

Class Meeting Time: Tuesday 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Class Location: Room 311, Law School Building

Office Hours:  By appointment

Adrian N. Roe, Esq,
Adjunct Clinical Professor, Supervising Attorney

Samuel H. Simon, Esq.
Adjunct Clinical Professor, Supervising Attorney

The Re-Entry Legal Services Clinic is a yearlong clinic that offers income-qualified clients legal assistance with gubernatorial pardons. Students participate in weekly seminars that address substantive and procedural law issues, then experience hands-on training in case intake and interviewing, client counseling, fact investigation, case analysis, mediation, negotiation, research and drafting of complaints and documents.

Students also assist individuals with the completion of the complex Pennsylvania Board of Pardons’ clemency application and compete filings with the Board. After the lengthy Board investigation process, students prepare clients who have been selected for public pardon hearings through mock hearings.

Two-Semester Graded Course

Credits: 6 (3 academic credits, 3 non-classroom credits)

Co-requisite: Constitutional Law, Evidence (may be taken in fall or spring)

Enrollment: 8 Students

Clinic Hours to Be Completed: 270 Hours (minimum 10 hours per week)

Class Meeting Time: Tuesday 4 - 5:45 p.m.

Class Location: Room 201, Tribone Building

Office Hours: Prof. Turahn Jenkins and Professor Carmen Robinson; Tues. 2:30 - 3:30pm and By Appt.

Turahn L. Jenkins, Esquire
Adjunct Clinical Professor, Supervising Attorney

Carmen L. Robinson, Esquire
Adjunct Clinical Professor, Supervising Attorney

The Urban Development Practicum provides a broad range of legal services related to real estate and economic development in distressed communities in the region. Students in the practicum are gaining practical experience by working on both real and simulated projects and cases.

Services provided by student attorneys include general real estate matters, title searches, negotiation and drafting of development agreements, preparation of land use cases, appellate land use practice and attending and participating in public meetings and hearings. Some of the unique topics addressed through the work with clinic clients include conservation easements, land acquisition, zoning issues and “greening initiatives.” 

While providing pro bono legal assistance to neighborhood and regional urban renewal organizations, student lawyers are acquiring and sharpening fundamental lawyering skills critical to addressing community needs and professional responsibilities.

The Veterans Clinic provides assistance to veterans accepted into the Veterans Court of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. Eligible students are certified by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to appear in court.

The clinic trains law students in a holistic approach to the law focusing on the problem-solving philosophy and recidivism-reducing techniques. Many of the clients served suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injuries and other mental health disorders and/or addictions. The students prepare and present cases for disposition and stay in touch with the clients to ensure that the veterans are following court-ordered treatment plans offered as alternatives to incarceration.

The clinic uses a simulation, called “hearing voices training," to help students understand specific challenges faced by people with psychiatric disabilities. Students also visit the HOPE Pod in the Allegheny County Jail and the Veterans Service Unit located at State Correctional Institution, Pittsburgh, both of which prepare veterans to reenter the community. 

Two-Semester Graded Course

Credits: 6 Credits (3 classroom credits, 3 non-classroom credits)

Co-requisite:  Evidence (may be taken in fall or spring)

Enrollment: 8 Students

Clinic Hours to Be Completed: 270 Hours (Minimum of 10 Hours per Week)

Class Meeting Time: Wednesday 3:30 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.

Class Location: Room 301, Law School Building

Office Hours: Professors Kunz and Rago: Wednesday 2:00 - 4:00 p.m., By Appt.

Students must be available for court on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Daniel W. Kunz, Esq.
Adjunct Clinical Professor, Supervising Attorney

John T. Rago, Esq.
Associate Professor of Law, Directing Attorney 

This clinic focuses on assisting low-income clients with Wills, Living Wills, Advance Directives, Memoranda regarding Conduct of Funeral and Burial or Cremation and Healthcare and Financial Power of Attorneys. Students receive valuable hands-on training in:

• Client intake
• Interviewing clients
• Preparing cases
• Drafting Wills and Advance Health Care Directives

One-Semester Graded Course

3 Credits (classroom and non-classroom)

Enrollment: up to 8 students

Clinic Hours to Be Completed: Minimum of 10 Hours per Week

Class Meeting Time:  Friday - 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Class Location: Tribone Building Room 208

Office Hours: Tribone Room 308

Tuesdays - 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. or by Appointment

via Zoom or in-person, please request via e-mail:

Grace W. Orsatti, Esq.
Assistant Clinical Professor, Supervising Attorney

The Youth Advocacy Clinic provides a unique opportunity for 2L & 3L students to represent children in both delinquency and education matters. Students will interview, advise, and represent clients from the inception of the case and, once-certified, be able to represent clients in court and administrative proceedings. In delinquency matters, the clinic will handle: traditional delinquency cases, juvenile record expungement matters, and Protection From Abuse matters in which minors are defendants. In education matters, the clinic will handle: both informal and formal school discipline matters and special education matters including, but not limited to: identification, evaluation, placement and discipline in the context of students with disabilities.

Both juvenile defense and education law are specialized areas of law, and students will be trained accordingly, with an intensive training period at the beginning of the school year and important trainings throughout the life of the clinic. Students will be the advocates for their clients, but the clinical professor will be present in the courtroom or hearing room at all times while the student is before a judicial or hearing officer.

The clinic will operate as a holistic representation model, with the overall goal of the representation being to meet as many of the client's needs as possible, not solely the single legal issue that brings them to the clinic. The clinic features an ongoing partnership with masters-level social work students from the University of Pittsburgh and doctorate-level school psychology students from Duquesne University's School of Education. Students from all disciplines will work in interdisciplinary teams on most cases in order to implement the holistic model. Students will be trained on the model and there will be ongoing assessment throughout the academic year to determine students' learning around the model.

The clinic seeks to keep minors in school and out of detention centers, juvenile justice placements and jail. To that end, the clinic engages in policy and advocacy work around issues pertinent to our clients' cases. When appropriate, the clinic performs community education workshops, attends community meetings, and meets with relevant stakeholders to determine ways to provide legal information. Students who take this clinic will be immersed in issues related to dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.

Two-Semester Graded Course

Credits: 6 Credits (3 classroom credits, 3 non-classroom credits)

Co-requisite:  Evidence (may be taken in fall or spring)

Enrollment: 16 Students

Clinic Hours to Be Completed: 270 Hours (Minimum of 10 Hours per Week)

Class Meeting Time: .Monday, 3:00 p..m. - 5:00 p.m.

Class Location:  Room 310 Law School Building

Office Hours:  Monday - 2:00 - 3:00 p.m., Room 309, Tribone Building 309 and other times by appointment via Zoom

Students should be available on court days (Mon, Tues., or Thurs.), to accompany clients, according to cases and class schedules

Kara L. Dempsey, Esq.
Assistant Clinical Professor, Supervising Attorney

The Criminal Prosecution Program provides students with an on-site externship at the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office and classroom instruction in criminal law. The weekly classroom seminar covers all facets of criminal law from a suspect's arrest through the trial and post-trial stages. Students rotate through the DA's office in accordance with the topics being covered in the classroom.

• Yearlong Pass/Fail Course
• Credits: 6 Credits (3 classroom credits, 3 non-classroom credits)
• Prerequisite: Evidence
• Enrollment: 8 Students
• Clinic Hours to Be Completed: 270 Hours (Minimum of 10 Hours per Week)
• Class Meeting Time: Thursday, 4 - 5:45 p.m.
• Class Location:  Room 303, Tribone Building

Supervising Attorneys

Jennifer DiGiovanni, Esq.
The Hon. David L. Spurgeon

This yearlong externship program provides students with an opportunity to directly work with Neighborhood Legal Services. Students will develop an understanding of the legal and non-legal hurdles that older Pennsylvanians face in civil legal matters. By working directly with clients and attending a weekly seminar, students will be able to assist individuals on legal issues such as evictions, mortgage foreclosures, debt collections, tangle titles, and other elder law issues. Students have the opportunity to meet with clients, prepare and file legal documents, argue at hearings or other court proceedings, and provide legal advice. In addition, students will work with the supervising attorneys to develop additional resources, such as a pro se handbook for handling small estates or other informational legal materials, that would assist older individuals facing civil legal issues to provide guidance to clients through a holistic service model.

• Yearlong Pass/Fail Course
• Credits 6 Credits (3 classroom credits, 3 non-classroom credits)
• Co-requisite:  Evidence (may be taken in the fall or spring)
• Enrollment 4 Students
• Clinic Hours to Be Completed 270 Hours (minimum of 10 hours per week)
• Class Meeting Time: Thursday, 4:00 - 5:45pm
• Class Location: Room 208, Tribone Building or at NLSA

Supervising Attorneys

Jaime Latronica, Esq.
Catherine T. Martin, Esq.

Students of the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University have a special opportunity to work as externs or volunteers with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project. 

The statewide program works to exonerate those who have been convicted of crimes they did not commit and to prevent the innocent from being convicted. 

Duquesne Kline School of Law students assist the project’s legal staff and volunteer attorneys to investigate innocence claims and pursue judicial appeals. During case work and accompanying course work, students gain skills in interviewing, investigation, and legal writing as well as an understanding of the uses of DNA and other scientific evidence and the state and federal rules governing admissibility. 

The initiative began from a single office in Philadelphia. With Pennsylvania now one of the top 10 states in total number of exonerations, the project expanded to Duquesne Kline School of Law’s Tribone Center for Clinical Legal Education. The project is based the first floor of the Tribone Building, within walking distance to the law school and both of Duquesne’s law libraries.  

Duquesne Kline School of Law students collaborate with the University of Pittsburgh Law students having an equal number of student externs working together each semester. 

Coursework

• Yearlong Pass/Fail Course
• Credits: 6 (3 classroom  credits, 3 non-classroom credits)
• Co-requisite:  Evidence (may be taken in the fall or spring)
• Enrollment: 12 Students Total as Externs (6 from Duquesne Kline and 6 from Pitt Law)
• Clinic Hours to Be Completed: 270 Hours (Minimum of 10 Hours per Week)
• Class Meeting Time:  Friday 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
• Class Location:  Room 310, Hanley Hall

Supervising Attorney

Elizabeth A. DeLosa, Esq.
Managing Attorney

This yearlong externship program is designed to provide students with an understanding of the process of criminal defense while offering practical, hands-on experiences with actual persons accused of a crime.

Students will learn the stages of a criminal case involving an adult, specifically, the impact that the criminal justice system has on the accused. This knowledge and exposure to real cases will allow students to interactively participate in the criminal courts with the prerogative of assisting clients and limiting potential consequences, both direct and collateral. To that end, students will have the unique opportunity to prepare, file and argue various motions, handle preliminary hearings before district justices and participate in diverse interactions in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.

• Yearlong Pass /Fail Course
• Credits: 6 Credits (3 classroom credits, 3 non-classroom credits)
• Co-requisite:  Evidence (may be taken in the fall or spring)
• Enrollment: 8 Students
• Clinic Hours to Be Completed: 270 Hours (minimum of 10 hours per week)
• Class Meeting Time: Thursday, 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.
• Class Location: Room 201, Tribone Building

Supervising Attorneys

The Hon. Elliot C. Howsie
Stacey L. Steiner Esq.