University of Pittsburgh School of Law alumni

Following is a list of notable alumni of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

James Duff, 34th Pennsylvania Governor

Dick Thornburgh, 41st Pennsylvania Governor and 76th United States Attorney General

Orrin Hatch, President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate

Academia

• Derrick Bell - (1957) - First tenured black professor at Harvard Law School ^[1]
• David J. Hickton - (1981) – director and founder of the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Cyber Law, Policy and Security, staff director and senior counsel to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania,

Business

• George Barco - (1934) - Cable television executive who played a key role in development of that industry ^[2]
• Yolanda Barco - (1949) - Cable television executive ^[2]
• Dawne Hickton (1983) – vice chair, President, CEO of RTI International Metals ^[3]

Entertainment

• Anne Feeney - (1978) - folk musician, political activist and attorney ^[4]

Government

• Pavel Astakhov - (2002) - Children's Ombudsman of Russia (2009–present) ^[5]
• Q. Todd Dickinson - (1977) - former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) (1999–2001); current executive director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) ^[6]
• Cyril Wecht - (1962) - forensic pathologist who was Allegheny County Coroner and Medical Examiner, ^[7]

Judiciary

• Ruggero J. Aldisert - (1947) - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit 1968-1986 ^[8]
• Anne X. Alpern - (1927) - first woman attorney general for Pennsylvania and first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ^[9]
• Ralph J. Cappy - (1968) - justice (1990–2008) and Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (2003–2008) ^[10]
• Robert J. Cindrich (1968) – former U.S. attorney and US District judge
• Mark R. Hornak - (1981) - chief judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (2011–present) ^[11]
• Susan Richard Nelson - (1978) - Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota ^[12]
• Maryellen Noreika - (1993) - Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Delaware ^[13]
• Sara Soffel - (1916) - Judge of the Allegheny County Court and Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas; first woman to serve as a judge in Pennsylvania. ^[14]
• Debra Todd - (1982) - Justice on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (2007–present; Current Chief Justice) ^[15]
• Joseph F. Weis Jr. - (1950) - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1973-1988) ^[16]

Law

• Mary Beth Buchanan - (1987) - United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania (2001–2009) ^[17]
• Linda Drane Burdick - (1989) - Chief Assistant State Attorney at the Orange and Osceola County State Attorney's Office in Orlando, Florida. She was the lead prosecutor on the State of Florida vs. Casey Anthony case. ^[18]
• Harry W. Colmery (1916) – attorney who served as the National Commander of The American Legion, author of G.I. Bill
• Lucy Fato - (1991) - corporate attorney, Executive Vice President & General Counsel for Seaport Entertainment Group ^[19]
• William Lerach - (1970) - private securities class action attorney
• Roslyn Litman, lawyer who successfully sued the NBA on behalf of blackballed player Connie Hawkins. ^[20]
• Edgar Snyder - (1966) - personal injury attorney ^[21]
• Joseph "Chip" Yablonski - (1965) - Attorney for the NFL Players Association ^[22]

Politics

• W. Thomas Andrews - (1966) - Pennsylvania State Senator (1972-1980) ^[23]
• Homer S. Brown - (1923) - Judge, civil and political rights activist, elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1934–1950) ^[24]
• Earl Chudoff - (1932) - U.S. Representative (1949–1958) ^[25]
• William Corbett (1927) - 2nd Secretary of Guam (1953–1956) and the 3rd Civilian Governor of Guam (1956) ^[26]
• Harmar D. Denny Jr. - (1911) - U.S. Representative (1951–1953) ^[27]
• James H. Duff - (1907) - Pennsylvania Governor (1947–1951), U.S. Senator (1951–1957) ^[28]
• Charles H. Ealy - (1908) - President Pro Tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate (1941–1944) ^[29]
• Harry Allison Estep - (1913) - U.S. Representative (1927–1933) ^[30]
• Tom Feeney - (1983) - U.S. Representative (2003–2009) ^[31]
• Melissa Hart - (1987) - U.S. Representative (2001–2007) ^[32]
• Orrin Hatch - (1962) - President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate and U.S. Senator (1977–2019) ^[33]
• K. Leroy Irvis - (1953) - First African American to serve as a speaker of the house (Pennsylvania) in any state legislature in the United States since Reconstruction. ^[34]
• Dan Onorato - (1989) - Chief executive of Allegheny County (2003–2012) ^[35]
• Vjosa Osmani (LLM 2005, SJD 2015) - 5th President of Kosovo (2021–present) ^[36]
• David A. Reed - (1903) - U.S. Senator (1922–1935) ^[37]
• Joseph H. Thompson (1908) - Pennsylvania State Senator, Medal of Honor Recipient, and college Football Hall of Fame player and coach, ^[38]
• Dick Thornburgh - (1957) - Pennsylvania Governor (1979–1987), U.S. Attorney General (1988–1991) ^[39]
• Mary Jo White - (1967) - Pennsylvania State Senator ^[40] (1997-2012)
• James A. Wright - (1927) - U.S. Representative (1941–1945) ^[41]

References

1. "Derrick Bell". The President and Fellows of Harvard College. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
2. Lomando White, Patricia (23 June 2003). "Law Building Renamed in Barcos' Memory". Pitt Chronicle. University of Pittsburgh. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
3. "Profile -- Dawne Hickton". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
4. Clay Risen,"Anne Feeney, Fierce and Tireless Protest Singer, Dies at 69," The New York Times, February 8, 2021.
5. "Pavel A. Astakhov". Official website of the Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of the Russian Federation. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
6. Dickinson's bio Archived October 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine from the Intellectual Property Owners Association
7. "Class Notes". Pitt Magazine. University of Pittsburgh. Winter 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
8. "Ruggero J. Aldisert". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
9. "Anne X. Alpern Papers". Guides to Archives and Manuscript Collections at the University of Pittsburgh Library System. University of Pittsburgh. December 15, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
10. "Ralph J. Cappy". whoislaw.info. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
11. "Mark R. Hornak". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
12. "Susan Richard Nelson". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
13. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Ninth Wave of Judicial Nominees and Tenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees". whitehouse.gov . Retrieved May 30, 2020– via National Archives.
14. McElroy, Janice H., ed. (1983). Our Hidden Heritage: Pennsylvania Women in History . Washington, D.C.: Pennsylvania Division, American Association of University Women. pp. 145–146. ISBN   978-0-9611476-0-0.
15. "Debra Todd". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
16. "Obituary: Joseph F. Weis Jr. / Judge celebrated in court, on battlefield | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette".
17. "Mary Beth Buchanan". Notable Names Data Base. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
18. Article (May 31, 2012). "Iron Lady | Orlando Home & Leisure". Ohlmag.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
19. "Ex-AIG Legal Chief Pivots to Ackman-Backed Howard Hughes Spinoff". Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
20. Roberts, Sam (October 8, 2016). "Roslyn Litman, Antitrust Lawyer and Civil Liberties Advocate, Dies at 88". New York Times .
21. "Edgar Snyder". linkedin corporation. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
22. 1965 University of Pittsburgh Commencement. University of Pittsburgh. June 7, 1965. p. 31. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
23. County, Beaver. "W. Thomas Andrews". Beaver County Times. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
24. "Pitt In The Election". University of Pittsburgh Alumni Review. 5 (3). General Alumni Association of the University of Pittsburgh. December 1938. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
25. "Earl Chudoff". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
26. "Law". The Alumni News Review. 12 (1). University of Pittsburgh: 6. October 1957. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
27. "Harmar D. Denny, Jr". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
28. "James H. Duff". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
29. "Charles Hodge Ealy Biography". The Official Website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
30. "Harry Allison Estep". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
31. "Tom Feeney". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
32. "Melissa Hart". Notable Names Data Base. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
33. "Orrin Hatch". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
34. "K. Leroy Irvis". The New York Times. March 18, 2006. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
35. "Dan Onorato". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
36. "Faculty Directory | School of Law | University of Pittsburgh | University of Pittsburgh".
37. "David A. Reed". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
38. "Joseph H. Thompson". The Pittsburgh Record. 2 (3). University of Pittsburgh: 222. April 1928. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
39. "Dick Thornburgh". Notable Names Data Base. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
40. "Mary Jo White". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
41. "James A. Wright". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved February 24, 2013.