The University of Pittsburgh School of Law is proud to announce Abigail Long as the inaugural Criminal Justice Fellow, the first student to receive support through the newly established Criminal Justice Fellows Fund. The endowed fund was created in 2025 with a $1 million gift from The Luciana Fato Foundation to support Pitt Law students pursuing careers in criminal justice through summer internships and externships with organizations focused on criminal justice issues.
The gift reflects the generosity and vision of this year’s commencement speaker and Pitt Law alumna, Lucy Fato (A&S ’88) (JD ’91), whose investment will create lasting opportunities for students committed to public service and criminal justice work. The Criminal Justice Fellows Fund supports Pitt Law students interested in criminal justice through summer internships and externships with partner organizations focused on criminal justice issues.
“I was delighted to learn that Abigail Long will receive support from the Criminal Justice Fellows Fund to work with Public Defenders in Allegheny County. This is precisely what the Fund was designed to accomplish – providing law students with the opportunity to learn, give back through public service, and access justice for those most in need,” said Fato.
“This fellowship represents exactly the kind of forward-looking investment that strengthens Pitt Law’s public interest mission,” said Dean Jerry Dickinson. “Lucy’s generosity helps make that vision real, creating meaningful opportunity for students interested in criminal justice and reinforcing Pitt Law’s broader commitment to service, equity, and justice.”
The inaugural recipient, Abigail Long, will use the fellowship to support work with the Allegheny County Public Defender during the summer of 2026.
“I’m incredibly grateful to be named the inaugural Criminal Justice Fellow,” said Long. “This support allows me to focus fully on gaining hands-on experience with the Allegheny County Public Defender and to pursue the kind of meaningful, client-centered work that drew me to public interest law.”
The fund also reflects Pitt Law’s growing investment in public interest education and career pathways, including last year’s launch of the law school’s new Office of Public Interest (OPI) and the appointment of Megan Lovett as Assistant Dean of Public Interest to lead it, as well as the expansion of experiential learning opportunities across the curriculum, including the recent appointment of Professor Elena Baylis as the law school’s inaugural Associate Dean for Experiential Learning. Established as part of an ambitious vision to expand Pitt Law’s leadership in public service, pro bono advocacy, and justice-centered legal education, OPI is designed to deepen student support, strengthen community partnerships, and build a more robust professional and academic infrastructure for students pursuing public interest careers.
“Our students seek out public-interest internships with confidence because they know they will be supported by funds such as Lucy Fato’s gift. We can’t have students forced to choose between paying rent and pursuing their chosen public-interest career path. This generosity has the power to shape the future of our students and all the clients they will serve in the future,” said Lovett.
The creation of the Criminal Justice Fellows Fund marks another important step in Pitt Law’s efforts to expand opportunity in public interest law and to build a law school culture that encourages students to pursue work in service of justice, accountability, and the public good. With the leadership of the Office of Public Interest and the support of donors such as Lucy Fato, Pitt Law continues to invest in the next generation of public interest lawyers.