Laurie Serafino Named Director of Clinical Legal Education

The School of Law recently welcomed Laurie Serafino as its director of clinical legal education. In her role, Serafino supervises more than 20 attorneys and manages the work of more than 100 students involved in the law school’s 13 clinics and externship programs.

“Laurie brings a wealth of talent to the law school,” said Law Dean Ken Gormley. “A nationally recognized leader in the field of clinical education, she has endless enthusiasm and energy for building the program here at Duquesne and making it one of the top programs in the United States.”

Serafino most recently served as an assistant professor and director of clinical programs at the Pepperdine University School of Law. There, she supervised multiple law clinics and arranged externship placements for students with the U.S. State Department, federal courthouses, private companies and public interest law offices.

She practiced law in California for 30 years, primarily as a criminal defense attorney. In her various roles, Serafino represented indigent defendants as a deputy Los Angeles County public defender and as a private defense attorney appointed by the Los Angeles County Superior Court in felony, juvenile and misdemeanor cases.

According to Serafino, she was attracted to her current position at the law school in part because of the University’s deep commitment to public service. “People have been so welcoming,” said Serafino. “I saw a wonderful opportunity at Duquesne, and I look forward to fully developing the clinical legal education programs here.”

Serafino is working to involve as many research faculty members as possible in the mission of the clinical legal education program and to raise its profile both regionally and nationally.