Clinics

Law school and reality meet head on in Pitt Law’s in-house legal clinics. Under the supervision of full-time faculty who are practicing attorneys, you will wrestle as a lawyer with legal and ethical issues involving real people. Students are eligible to enroll in a legal clinic beginning in the second semester of their second year of law school.

Elder Law Clinic

In the Elder Law Clinic, students represent low-income older adults and/or their family members in selected areas of Elder Law including simple estate planning, guardianship and medical assistance planning for long-term care.

Environmental Law Clinic 

Working largely in the areas of water quality, water rights, mining, solid waste disposal, and land use, the Environmental Law Clinic represents low-income clients in matters ranging from legislative drafting to litigation to client counseling. (Clinic is inactive for the 2023-2024 semester).

Family Empowerment and Legal Access Clinic 

Transition from student to lawyer while representing families facing numerous barriers to engaging with the legal system. In the Clinic you will develop lawyering skills (interviewing, fact gathering, evidence preparation, oral and written advocacy) necessary for a professionally effective – and satisfying client representation practice. Over two semester you will assume full responsibility for your clients while advocating for them to access a legal system that is built for all, but is not responsive to their unique needs. 

Health Law Clinic 

The Health Law Clinic is a medical-legal partnership between the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.(Clinic is inactive for the 2023-2024 semester).

Immigration Law Clinic 

Students in the Immigration Law Clinic represent immigrants requesting asylum, facing removal from the United States, and seeking special protection under the Violence Against Women Act. Students also help clients to overcome linguistic and cultural barriers that could impede their success in the U.S. legal system.

Securities Arbitration Clinic

In the Securities Arbitration Clinic, students represent small investors in disputes with their broker-dealer through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) mandatory arbitration proceedings and/or the mediation alternative offered through FINRA.

Taxpayer Clinic

The Taxpayer Clinic offers law students opportunities to gain practical lawyering skills while representing low-income taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Students are supervised by experienced tax law attorneys. The clinic is funded by the IRS’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic grant program (LITC), though the clinic is independent of the IRS. Clients are individuals who have disputes with the IRS concerning their federal taxes; however, the clinic does not prepare tax returns