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.
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