Nancy Burkoff

Professor Emerita of Law

Biography

Nancy Burkoff teaches Legal Analysis & Writing to first year students, and Advanced Legal Writing in the upper level.  She also teaches U.S. Legal Writing and Analysis to international students in the Master of Laws Program for Foreign Law Graduates. Professor Burkoff has a strong interest in international legal education, and has lectured in Spain and Turkey.  She is faculty coordinator for Pitt Law’s externship program.

Before joining the faculty, Professor Burkoff served as Senior Career Law Clerk to the Honorable Maurice B. Cohill, Jr., United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, for fourteen years.  She is a co-author of Legal Writing:  A Contemporary Approach.  She is also co-author of the leading national treatise on the subject of ineffective assistance of counsel. Professor Burkoff has published articles on state constitutional law, federal jurisdiction, and criminal procedure. She has taught in the CLEO Summer Institute hosted at the Law School.

Key/Recent Publications

Books:

  • Nancy M. Burkoff & John M. Burkoff, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, (West, 2002-2009).
  • Exam Pro Objective on Criminal Law (with Burkoff, J.M., West, 2012).

Articles:

  • Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (with Burkoff, J.M., West, 2012, updated annually).
  • Comparative Civil Law & Common Law Analysis: An Introductory Framework, Bahcesehir Universitesi Hukuk Fakultesi Kazanci, (Aug. 2011).
  • State Action and the Declaration of RightsThe Pennsylvania Constitution: A Treatise on the Rights and Liberties, (Ken Gormley ed., Bisel 2002, updated annually).
  • Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Based on Counsel's Alleged Fourth Amendment Failures, 30 Search & Seizure L. Rep. 41 (June 2003)

Presentations:

  • Presenter, “Common Law Legal Reasoning and Research” Lecture in Univ. of Navarra Program in American Law, Univ. of Navarra, (Mar. 2012).
  • Presenter, “Comparative Civil Law & Common Law Analysis,” 5 Hour Short Course on American Legal Reasoning, Bahcesehir Univ. Faculty of Law, (May 2012).
  • Presenter, “Structure of the U.S. Legal System,” Mellon Orientation Lecture, Univ. of Pittsburgh School of Law, (Aug. 2011).
  • Copresenter, “Teaching U.S. Legal Writing in LL.M. Programs,” AALS, (Jan. 2012).

Other Activities

  • Fellow, Allegheny County Bar Foundation Fellows Program.
  • Member, Allegheny County Bar Association.
  • Member, Women’s Bar Association.
  • Member, Legal Writing Institute.
  • Member, LWI Global Legal Writing Skills Committee.
  • Externship Program, Faculty Coordinator.          
  • Law Faculty representative to the Faculty Assembly.