Pitt Law’s practicums combine focused classroom instruction in a specific area of interest with fieldwork under supervising attorneys at public agencies and private and nonprofit organizations. There is no better way to prepare for your law career than to learn from and work directly with experts in the field. Full-year or semester options are available in criminal law, health law, housing law, and education law.
Community Lawyering
Gain experience with live clients, performing such essential lawyering tasks as interviewing, counseling, negotiating, drafting documents and pleadings, and providing representation before the Court of Common Pleas. Students receive modeling, training, and supervision from experienced attorneys at Southeastern PA Legal Services.
Review the requirements on Pitt Law's Courses & Curriculum website.
Criminal Prosecution Practicum
Administered by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office and led by former prosecutor Judge Edward J. Borkowski, this full-year practicum prepares students for criminal practice through a blend of classroom instruction and courtroom experience. Students attend weekly sessions at the Allegheny County Courthouse to master litigation skills—including opening statements, cross-examinations, and expert witness testimony—using a homicide case model. In the field component, students extern ten hours per week at the District Attorney’s Office. Certified legal interns have the unique opportunity to litigate guilty pleas, suppression motions, and nonjury trials in the Court of Common Pleas, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the inner workings of a prosecution office.
Review the requirements on Pitt Law's Courses & Curriculum website.
Healthcare Fraud, Abuse and Compliance
In this course, law students will partner with public health graduate students to work on real-world projects for the UPMC Office of Ethics and Compliance, gaining hands-on experience addressing complex health care compliance issues. United States health care spending reached $3.6 trillion in 2018, accounting for 17.7% of the gross domestic product. Government officials have said that up to 10% of this spending is due to fraud, waste, or abuse. In fiscal year 2019, the federal government won or negotiated $2.6 billion in health care fraud and abuse judgments and settlements, plus additional amounts from administrative cases.
As one of the most highly regulated industries in the United States, health care entities must comply with numerous statutes and regulations, including those related to fraud and abuse. These laws are increasingly complex, thereby exposing health care entities to liability for non-compliance. Thus, individuals involved in the administration and delivery of health care, and lawyers who wish to practice health law, must be well-versed in the laws and regulations governing health care fraud, abuse, and compliance, as well as the strategies health care entities use to address these concerns. In this course, students will explore the major federal civil, administrative, and criminal laws that have been used to combat health care fraud and abuse. These laws include the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Physician Self-Referral Law, and the Civil Monetary Penalties Law. The course will also cover related compliance strategies and practical compliance issues faced by health care providers, including the seven elements of effective compliance programs, conflicts of interest and governance, repayments and disclosures, privacy and security, and corporate integrity agreements.
Review the requirements on Pitt Law's Courses & Curriculum website.
PA Practice Anti-Eviction Practicum
Students help indigent clients and learn essential lawyering skills under the close supervision of experienced attorneys at Neighborhood Legal Services. The Practicum runs the entire school year, so students must devote both semesters to the program. The fall term has a classroom component and fieldwork, and the spring term offering is all fieldwork. The seminar is held at Neighborhood Legal Services' Pittsburgh offices. In the field component, students represent clients in the courtroom and administrative hearing procedures on landlord-tenant, employment law, issues, and consumer law.
Review the requirements on our Courses & Curriculum website.
Pennsylvania Innocence Project Practicum
The Pennsylvania Innocence Project lets students examine and discuss the substantive law and remedies related to wrongful convictions. Topics include mistaken eyewitness identification, “junk” forensic science, forensic DNA testing, and post-conviction remedies. In this practicum, students are exposed to post-conviction collateral litigation, criminal law ethics, defense and prosecution, and factual analysis training. Learn more about the Pennsylvania Innocence Project.
Review the requirements on Pitt Law's Courses & Curriculum website.
State Criminal Defense Practicum
This practicum teaches law students the real-world practice of criminal defense, with field placement coordinated with the Allegheny County Public Defender's Office. The class will consist of lectures and class discussions, courtroom observation, and direct in-court participation. This class is open to all students. Students eligible to become Certified Legal Interns must do so, working under the direct supervision of attorneys in the Pretrial and Trial Division of the Public Defender's Office. Students who are not Certified Legal Interns will receive an equally valuable experience by participating in observation and client interaction.
Review the requirements on Pitt Law's Courses & Curriculum website.
Street Art Free Speech Practicum
Street Medicine Practicum
The Street Medicine Practicum offers students a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of law, healthcare, and social justice. In partnership with Street Medicine @Pitt and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's Street Medicine residency program, students work alongside physicians, medical students, and other professionals to serve individuals experiencing homelessness in the Pittsburgh region.
Through weekly Street Rounds and seminar sessions, students gain hands-on experience addressing legal issues that often accompany housing insecurity, including access to public benefits, health insurance, criminal record expungement, and housing-related challenges. Students also connect community members with legal service providers when they need attorney representation.
The practicum develops essential lawyering skills—including client interviewing, legal research and writing, problem-solving, and interdisciplinary collaboration—while exploring the legal, social, and public health factors that contribute to homelessness. Students leave the course with practical experience serving vulnerable populations and a deeper understanding of how lawyers can advance health equity and social justice in their communities.
Review the requirements on Pitt Law's Courses & Curriculum website.