Pitt Law’s Securities Arbitration Clinic was invited to an SEC summit

Students and professors from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law Securities Arbitration Clinic have been invited to engage with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff and invited guests about issues addressed and lessons learned while providing free legal services to underrepresented investors.

The event, hosted by the SEC’s Office of the Ombuds, will be held at 11 a.m. March 1 at the SEC Headquarters in Washington, D.C. It will also be livestreamed on the SEC website.

For the first time, the list of Summit invitees includes law schools without investor advocacy clinics, many of which are located in areas of the U.S. where free legal services for investors are scarce.

“Investors who cannot afford private counsel are significantly disadvantaged in arbitration or litigation with their financial professionals,” SEC Ombudsman Stacy Puente said. “The clinics help level that playing field, advocating for the personal interests of these investors.”

The program will address the impact of the students’ legal work and allow them to participate in panel discussions with SEC staff about investor outreach and the role of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in their clinic work.

Other participating law school clinics include those from Cornell University Law School, Howard University School of Law, Seton Hall University School of Law and University of Miami School of Law.