Program Book for the 250th Anniversary - Flipbook - Page 8
JUSTICE CHRISTINE DONOHUE
Justice Christine Donohue serves on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Her term of office commenced in January 2016.
Prior to her service as a Supreme Court Justice, Justice Donohue served on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania for eight years.
As a lawyer, Justice Donohue was a civil trial lawyer and litigator for 27 years. She was a shareholder in the law firm,
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, P.C. and was the practice manager of the commercial litigation department in its predecessor
firm, Klett Rooney Lieber & Schorling, P.C. She earned her Juris Doctor degree at the Duquesne University School of Law,
where she served on the Duquesne Law Review. While in practice, she held the AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, she was
listed in Best Lawyers in America, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and the Top 50 Attorneys in Pittsburgh. She is an elected
Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Academy of Trial Lawyers of
Allegheny County and the American Board of Trial Advocates. She is a past president of the Western Pennsylvania Trial
Lawyers Association.
Justice Donohue is a former judge on the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline, a former chair and member of
the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners and the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board, and a former member of the
Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Justice Donohue is a member of the American, Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations. She served on the
Board of Governors of the Allegheny County Bar Association and was also the Chair of its Young Lawyers Division. She is
a member of the American Bar Foundation and a charter member of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation. She served as
a member of the House of Delegates of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. She was twice recognized in Pennsylvania Law
Weekly as one of Pennsylvania’s “Women Leaders in the Legal Profession.” Justice Donohue received the Distinguished
Alumni Award from East Stroudsburg University in 2016, the 2023 Woman of the Year Award from the Duquesne University
Thomas R. Kline School of Law Women’s Law Association and the Amen Corner’s 2023 Judge Robert E. Dauer Award For
Judicial Leadership & Excellence. She is the 2025 recipient of the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession Anne X.
Alpern Award.
Justice Donohue spearheaded an effort by trial judges and lawyers to afford young lawyers opportunities to gain courtroom
experience, especially presenting cases to civil juries. Bar groups developed a program known as Project LITIGATE
encouraging law firms to take a pledge to give young lawyers opportunities to develop litigation skills in the courtroom
while the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges endorsed Project LITIGATE and adopted a set of best practices for
involving less experienced lawyers in civil jury cases.
Justice Donohue taught ethics for attorneys at the Duquesne University School of Law. She has served on the Board of
Directors of the Hill House Association, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, Turtle Creek Valley Mental
Health/Mental Retardation, Inc. and the National Aviary of Pittsburgh. She serves on the Advisory Board of The Thomas R.
Kline School of Law of Duquesne University and is a frequent lecturer at seminars on the topics of appellate practice and
judicial ethics.
Justice Donohue’s chambers are in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She resides in the city of Pittsburgh.
