MEMBERSHIP

Each year, the Membership Committee of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County is charged with the responsibility of identifying the best trial lawyers for membership in the Academy from among the applicant pool. The Committee has the responsibility to review the applications and assess the skill, professional standards and ethics of every applicant.  All members of the Committee fully participate in the interview, investigation, research and voting process regarding the applicants. The members of the Committee change on a yearly basis and are chosen to represent a cross-section of the membership at large. Only a limited number of open positions are available on a yearly basis.

Admission into the Academy is by invitation only after an extensive review and election process.  All applicants must be nominated by a current Academy member. The entire Academy membership is confidentially surveyed regarding the qualifications of each applicant.  The results of the survey, together with information gained through the application, letters of recommendation, personal interviews and the candidate’s trial experience, are carefully reviewed and considered by the Committee as part of its confidential process of selecting for membership those civil trial lawyers who have exhibited excellence and the highest levels of  ethical standards and professionalism.  

Upon approval by the Board of Governors, the full Academy membership must vote to approve the new members.  Induction into membership takes place each year at the Annual Masters of Trial Advocacy Retreat in the Fall.

For further information and the criteria for membership. please contact the Academy's Executive Director, Deborah Eyler Smith, at 412-343-9266 or by email at academy@atlac.org.