49th Commissioned Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
The Honorable JOY FLOWERS CONTI was born in Kane, Pennsylvania on December 7, 1948. She graduated from Duquesne University in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts, and was awarded a J.D. degree summa cum laude from Duquesne University School of Law in 1973. She was Editor-In-Chief of the Duquesne Law Reveiw.After graduation from law school, she served as a law clerk to Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Louis L. Mandrino (deceased). In 1974, she was the first woman lawyer to be hired by Kirkpatrick, Lockhart, Johnson & Hutchinson, now known as Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, LLP. In 1976 she accepted a position as a member of the faculty of Duquesne University School of Law. She became a tenured professor of law at Duquesne University School of Law and taught courses in civil procedure, corporations, corporate finance, corporate reorganizations and bankruptcy.
In 1982, she returned to private practice with Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, and became a partner in 1983. In 1996, she joined Buchanan Ingersoll Professional Corporation as a shareholder. She concentrated her practice on bankruptcy, creditors' and debtors' rights, healthcare, general corporate and nonprofit corporation law. She has authored and lectured on bankruptcy and corporate law.
She is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Women's Bar Association of Western Pennsylvania, the Federal Bar Association and the American Inns of Court – University of Pittsburgh Chapter. She is a former president of the Allegheny County Bar Association and former chair of the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers’ Section. She also served as secretary and a trustee of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation. She was a Governor-at-Large of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and was the chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Corporation, Banking and Business Law Section. She served in the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, and she is currently serving in the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s House of Delegates. She was a co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Task Force on Legal Services for the Poor, Part II. She was listed in The Best Lawyers in America while in practice and is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in American Law.
She is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Judicature Society. She is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, the American Bar Foundation, the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation and the Allegheny County Bar Foundation. She was president of the Historical Society of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She has also served on numerous non-profit boards throughout her career.
In 2002, she received the Outstanding Leadership Award in Support of Legal Services given by Pennsylvania Legal Services. In 1995, she was the second recipient of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Anne X. Alpern Award, which annually recognizes one outstanding woman lawyer or judge. Also in 1995, she received the Vectors/Pittsburgh Award for Woman of the Year in Law and Government. In 1993, she received the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh Tribute to Women Award for Professionals and the Allegheny County Bar Association's Pro Bono Award. In 1981, she was recognized as one of the 10 Outstanding Young Women in America and as the Outstanding Young Woman in Pennsylvania.
Chambers’ Rules
