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The Zittrain Forums on Law and Public Policy

In 2000, Lester and Ruth Zittrain established the Zittrain Forums at the ACBF to provide the legal community with educational, topical and informative programs to lead to a better understanding of the complex issues confronting our government and legal systems. Lester passed away in 2003, leaving the Foundation a $150,000 bequest, its largest to date, to support the continuation of the Zittrain Forum fund.  

A well-known attorney throughout the region, Lester Zittrain was a partner at Zittrain and Zittrain and was an active member of Pittsburgh’s legal community. In addition to representing such celebrity clients as  Pistol Pete Maravich and Mean Joe Greene,  Lester was an elected member of the ACBA Board of Governors, served on various ACBA Committees, and was a Charter Fellow and trustee of the bar foundation. 

Lester Zittrain
Ruth Zittrain

Ruth Zittrain, formerly a partner at Zittrain and Zittrain, served as an elected member of the ACBA Board of Governors, and has served on various ACBA Committees. She is a Charter Fellow of the bar foundation, and was a member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County and a court-appointed Master for Arbitration Appeals in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. 

Past Programs

April 4, 2019 
Beyond Hate: Dangerous Speech in the Era of Social Media 
Featuring Professor Susan Benesch 

September 22, 2016 
Omni William Penn Hotel 
Hot Topics Facing the Upcoming 2016 Presidential Election 
A debate between national political commentators David Frum and Alex Wagner 

November 6, 2014 
Rivers Club 
The NSA Surveillance Program – A Necessary Evil or Government Gone Too Far? 
A CLE and debate featuring Alex Abdo, Esq. and Stewart Baker, Esq. with Professor Jonathan Zittrain and moderator John P. Gismondi, Esq. 

April 19, 2013 
Omni William Penn Hotel 
How Watergate Revolutionized Legal Ethics 
A 3-hour CLE presented by former Nixon White House counsel John W. Dean and author and professor James D. Robenalt 

May 4, 2011 
Fairmont Pittsburgh Hotel 
Rebecca Skloot, best-selling author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 

October 14, 2008 
Omni William Penn Hotel 
Hot topics facing voters in the 2008 Presidential election 
Featuring a debate between national political commentators Peter Beinart and Jonah Goldberg 
Moderated by Jonathan Zittrain 

Zittrain Forums Donors

The following individuals have made contributions in memory of Lester E. Zittrain in support of the Zittrain Forums on Law and Public Policy:  

Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County 
Alan L. Ackerman 
The Hon. Donetta Ambrose 
Berger & Lagnese, LLC 
Anita & Philip Brostoff 
John A. Caputo 
David Caudill & Penelope Pether 
Civil Litigation Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association 
The Hon. Joy Flowers Conti 
Crawford & Ellenbogen, LLC 
Roger & Marie Davidson 
Dr. Robert S. DeWaters, Jr. 
Ellen Doyle & Lawrence Frolik 
William R. Friedman 
Robert L. Garber 
Cheryl & Gene Gorski 
Health Law Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association 
David J. Herring 
Ann Ewart 
Laura E. Ellsworth & Bruce J. Teitelbaum 
The Hon. Nora Barry Fischer & Dr. Donald R. Fischer 
C. Lani Guinier 
International Relations Program at Carnegie Mellon University 
Charles W. Kenrick 
Harry F. Kunselman 
The Hon. Robert E. Kunselman 
The Hon. Maureen E. Lally-Green 
Jeffrey J. Leech 
Janice & David Leonard 
Solomon & Ruth Levin 
Michael & Jane Louik 
Katherine Elizabeth McCarron, Carol & Barry McCarthy 
Josette, Dale, Dale, Jr. & Elizabeth McCullough 
Patricia (Horvitz) & Bill Mandell 
Robert A. Maslansky, M.D. 
Joe Mendelsohn 
Meyers, Rosen, Louik & Perry, P.C. 
Bryan Scott Neft 
Rhoda & Richard Neft 
Richard & Geraldine Noble 
Robert L. Nowak 
Edward & Janet O’Connor 
Olszewski & Quinlin, P.C. 
Joan Ostrow 
John G. Palfrey 
Charles & Dolores Pass 
Stanley J. Reisman 
Research Underwriters 
Louis J. Richman, Jr. 
Herb Rosenberg 
Robert & Twyla Sable 
The Hon. Ila Jeanne Sensenich 
Robert & Nancy Smith 
The Hon. William L. Standish 
The Hon. Eugene Strassburger 
Ingrid P. Thoft 
The Hon. Debra Todd & Stephan K. Todd 
Julie Struk Tourek 
USI Colburn Insurance Service 
Vuono & Gray, LLC 
The Hon. Joseph F. Weis, Jr. 
Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association 
Women in the Law Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association 
Brian B. Zittrain 

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