Ken Gormley

Ken Gormley is Dean and Professor at Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh. He joined the faculty in 1994, after teaching at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and engaging in private practice. Dean Gormley earned his B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977, summa cum laude, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1980, serving as a teaching assistant to Professor Archibald Cox in Constitutional Law. Following graduation from law school, Dean Gormley was hired as Senior Law Clerk to Honorable Donald E. Ziegler in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Gormley also served as a Special Clerk to Justice Ralph J. Cappy of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (1990-91), and served as Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Reapportionment Commission (1991-92). In 1994, Dean Gormley joined the faculty at Duquesne University School of Law as associate professor, and was promoted to full professor in 1997. He teaches courses in Constitutional Law, Civil Rights Litigation, State Constitutional Law, Advanced Constitutional Law, First Amendment, and Legal Writing. He was appointed Interim Dean of Duquesne Law School in 2008 and was named the 11th Dean of the Law School in 2010.

Gormley is the principal editor of The Pennsylvania Constitution: A Treatise on Rights and Liberties (George T. Bisel Co., 2004), the premiere modern text on the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Gormley’s work on a myriad of legal/historical topics has earned him a reputation as a leading Constitutional scholar, both in Pittsburgh and nationally. In 1997, he published Archibald Cox: Conscience of a Nation (Perseus Books 1997), the authorized biography of one of the leading lawyers and public servants of the 20th century. The Cox book earned Gormley glowing reviews in nearly one hundred newspapers and magazines across the country, and was awarded the 1999 Bruce K. Gould Book Award for an outstanding publication relating to the law.

In 2010, Gormley published “The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr” (Crown), a New York Times bestseller chronicling the scandals that nearly destroyed the Clinton Presidency. The Death of American Virtue received the 2010 Bruce K. Gould Book Award as well as critical acclaim in publications including The New York Times Book Review (Editor’s Choice), Washington Post Book World, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Atlantic magazine, and dozens of others. As a result of national and international praise for the book -- describing it as a gripping yet balanced account -- Gormley appeared on NBC’s Today Show, The Charlie Rose Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, NPR’s Fresh Air, and hundreds of television and radio shows in the United States, Canada, Australia, Russia, Germany and worldwide. Janet Maslin of the New York Times has selected Dean Ken Gormley’s book, “The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr,” as one of her top ten books of 2010.

Gormley has testified in the United States Senate three times: concerning the independent counsel law; the President’s pardon power; and the warrantless wiretap program initiated during the Administration of President George W. Bush. In his capacity as a political and constitutional commentator, Dean Gormley has appeared on Court-TV, ABC’s Nightline, PBS’s Jim Lehrer News Hour, as well as radio shows on CBS, NBC, ABC, National Radio Network of Canada, and other networks.



Gormley has written over two dozen law review articles and book chapters in publications including Stanford Law Review, Michigan Law Review and Harvard Law Review. He also has written features and opinion pieces for newspapers including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Newsday, Chicago Tribune, and others.


In conjunction with his writing, Dean Gormley has organized numerous programs for local and national audiences, including “Justice Samuel Alito: Distinguished Public Service Award,” broadcast on C-SPAN’s “America and the Courts” program (April, 2007); ABrown v. Board of Education: A 50-Year Commemoration (2004) (co-sponsored by Duquesne University, the University of Pittsburgh and the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic site; broadcast on C-SPAN television’s American Perspectives program); President Truman and the Steel Seizure Case: A 50-Year Retrospective (co-sponsored with the Harry S. Truman Library & Institute); President Ford’s Pardon of Richard M. Nixon: A 25-Year Retrospective (1999) (broadcast on C-SPAN television); Archibald Cox: A Tribute to a Life of Public Service (1997) (broadcast on C-SPAN television); Robert F. Kennedy: Attorney General (1997) (broadcast on C-SPAN television); and others.

Dean Gormley has lectured at various venues including the Chautauqua Institution (New York), the Aspen Institute (Colorado), the John F. Kennedy Library (Boston), the Clinton School of Public Service (Arkansas), Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, the Eagleton Institute (Rutgers), Amerika Haus (Germany), and other significant venues.

Dean Gormley is admitted to the bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Gormley formerly served as President of the Allegheny County Bar Association, the first academic to hold that position in the organization’s 137-year history. He also serves on numerous Boards while remaining of-counsel to Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis, a firm with law offices in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and throughout the United States.

From 1998-2001, Gormley served as Mayor of Forest Hills, Pennsylvania, for a 4-year term. He lives there with his wife Laura, and their four children Carolyn, Luke, Rebecca and Madeleine.