The University of Pittsburgh School of Law has announced the creation of the Brockett Fund at Pitt Law, established through the generosity of distinguished alumnus Daniel L. Brockett (JD ’82). The new fund will support key initiatives at the Law School and strengthen opportunities for future generations of Pitt Law students, including, but not limited to, experiential learning opportunities, student scholarships, speaker series, and research in the areas of antitrust, corporate, business law, and financial regulation.
Brockett is Chair of the Financial Institution Litigation practice at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading trial lawyers. Over the course of a distinguished career spanning decades, he has built a national reputation as a formidable litigator, representing major institutional clients in complex securities, antitrust, commodities, and financial markets litigation.
“We are deeply grateful to Dan Brockett for his extraordinary generosity and continued commitment to Pitt Law,” said Dean Jerry Dickinson. “Dan represents the very best of our alumni. His legal excellence is matched by a deep dedication to supporting the next generation of lawyers. The Brockett Fund will help ensure that Pitt Law continues to provide students with the rigorous education and opportunities they need to lead in the legal profession and advance the rule of law.”
A Chambers-ranked lawyer and nationally recognized trial strategist, Brockett has been repeatedly honored by leading legal publications. He was named one of Benchmark Litigation’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America and has been recognized by Law360 as a “Competition MVP” and by the National Law Journal as a “Litigation Trailblazer.” From 2020 through 2024, he was also included among LawDragon’s 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers.
Brockett has achieved national prominence through his work representing investors and institutional clients in complex litigation involving major financial institutions. He has served as lead trial counsel in more than 20 major bench and jury trials and arbitrations, winning approximately 90 percent of those cases. Throughout his career, he has recovered billions of dollars in verdicts, awards, and settlements, including a highly publicized $1.9 billion settlement in the credit default swaps antitrust litigation and a $508 million partial settlement in the ISDAfix interest rate benchmark case.
Judges in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York have repeatedly selected Brockett as co-lead counsel in major precedent-setting financial markets cases, including litigation involving credit default swaps, gold price manipulation, interest rate benchmarks, U.S. Treasuries, and SSA bonds.
Despite his national success, Brockett remains deeply connected to the institution where his legal career began.
“Pitt Law played a formative role in my life and career,” Brockett said. “The faculty instilled in us the discipline to think critically, the courage to advocate fearlessly, and a deep commitment to justice. I am proud to support the Law School and hope this fund empowers future lawyers to pursue ambitious careers and make a lasting contribution to the profession.”
Brockett earned his JD, cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1982, where he served as an editor of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review. He received his BA in Philosophy from Kent State University in 1979.
Dean Dickinson noted that alumni investments like Brockett’s are essential to advancing Pitt Law’s strategic vision.
“Our alumni are among the most accomplished lawyers in the country, and their support fuels our ability to innovate and expand opportunities for students,” Dickinson said. “Dan’s leadership and generosity strengthen Pitt Law’s future and reinforce the powerful impact our graduates are making across the legal profession.”