College Scholarships

Having spent his entire career as a very successful and highly respected courtroom attorney, Mr. Gismondi takes a keen interest in training the next generation of courtroom advocates.  Therefore, The Gismondi Foundation provided the Law School at the University of Pittsburgh with a generous endowment to fund a broad-based training program consisting of several courses designed to train law students who are interested in becoming courtroom attorneys.  

Mr. Gismondi personally designed the week-by-week training exercises in each of the courses, and he continues to oversee the selection of approximately 20 veteran trial attorneys who serve as Instructors in the program.  For more detail on the Program, and to hear his students discuss the benefits of their experience in the Program, click here.

An endowment to hire and pay for four to six law students each Summer to work at public interest legal clinics that serve the under privileged such as Neighborhood Legal Services, the Public Defender’s Office and others. https://www.acbf.org/Gismondi-Fund

“This program has been a resounding success for both the students and the organizations that participate each year. The program allows students to be involved at the court and client level and assists the organizations with much-needed help for the summer.” 

Lorrie Albert

Here is what participating students said about The Gismondi Summer Fellowship:

“I found the summer fellowship program to be a great experience.”

“My Gismondi Summer Fellowship provided me with an opportunity to aid people within my community during some of their most troubling times. "

“. . . I had a wonderful summer fellowship experience and feel as if I had the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the people we helped.”

“I can’t imagine another job preparing me this well to be a lawyer.”

An endowed scholarship in honor of Judge Gustave Diamond, an important mentor of John Gismondi’s, to benefit students from Washington County, Pennsylvania, who attend Duquesne law.

Duquesne University says the scholarship “makes Duquesne’s distinctive education . . . more affordable for all, touching and changing lives. . . .”

An endowed scholarship in honor of John Gismondi’s late brother Jim, a proud alumnus and Trustee of the College, to provide financial assistance to students from Fayette County who attend Washington and Jefferson College.

An endowment to fund the “Gismondi Public Interest Fellowships,” a program which provides monthly stipends to law students who obtain unpaid summer internships at public service or non-profit organizations.