Director of Gormley Law Library Welcomed

In this role, Krishnaswami oversees the operations and strategic direction of the Gormley Law Library and will foster the robust research and instructional program. In the fall, she will teach in the Legal Writing Program for first-year law students and will teach Legal Research.

She comes to Duquesne Kline School of Law from her recent post at Yale University, where Krishnaswami was an associate law librarian for research instruction and a lecturer in Legal Research at the Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale Law School. She taught Advanced Legal Research, Research Methods in Statutory and Regulatory Research, and Introduction to Legal Research Methods and Sources. Additionally, Krishnaswami was a frequent guest speaker on research strategies and methods in doctrinal and clinical courses. 

Before entering academia, Krishnaswami clerked for the Honorable Susan L. Reisner of the New Jersey Superior Court’s Appellate Division and then practiced law at Lite DePalma Greenberg & Afanador in Newark, NJ, where she focused on complex appellate and managed discovery in class action litigations. 

Krishnaswami is looking forward to working with the law and university librarians and Duquesne Kline School of Law students and faculty. 

“I’m excited to work with students who are committed to the ethical practice of law and service within their communities, whether in Pittsburgh or their hometowns, by maintaining a law library collection to support them. Furthermore, I am thrilled to be working with the Duquesne Kline Law faculty and administration, and to support teaching and research through maintaining the law library as a pillar of the institution’s mission. The faculty and administration are actively considering how AI can be integrated into legal education and legal practice, and I look forward to joining that conversation,” she said.

Duquesne Kline School of Law Dean April Barton is equally enthusiastic about Krishnaswami’s knowledge and energy. “Julie brings a wide breadth of experience to her role and a passion for students, the law, continual learning, and our mission. I am eager for her to relate these areas and begin working with our students,” she said.

Krishnaswami is ready to incorporate the mission of creating lawyers who are ethical practitioners of law, promoting equality and democratic values through leadership, service, and civic engagement. 

“In my view, this is the primary function of lawyers, whether working locally or nationally. The mission extends to the institution supporting students as they learn in the classroom and in clinics, in the bar study, and in employment efforts.”