Instructor
Biography
Steven Toprani is a partner in Leech Tishman's Pittsburgh, Pa., office and a member of the Litigation Practice Group, concentrating his practice in civil litigation, special investigations and criminal justice.
Most recently, Steve served as district attorney Attorney of Washington County, Pa. During his time as D.A., Steve set benchmarks in major case investigations and successfully prosecuted numerous corrupt politicians and police officers, narcotics traffickers, racketeers and murderers. As D.A., Steve redirected the County Detectives Bureau, led efforts to curtail illegal aliens from working in area construction and drilling sites and remained vigilant against environmental polluters, effectively limiting the negative impact of Marcellus Shale expansion. Steve created a Public Corruption Task Force with the FBI, and forged new relationships with law enforcement organizations such as the Greater Pittsburgh Financial Crimes Task Force and the Justice Department's Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition.
Prior to serving as D.A., Steve had a private practice, Toprani & Popojas, where he represented clients in diverse civil, family, criminal, business, commercial real estate and bankruptcy matters and provided counsel to small businesses, injured workers and disabled veterans. Steve also formerly served as assistant counsel in the Office of General Counsel by (former) Gov. Ed Rendell, where he aided Pennsylvania's largest state agency, the Department of Public Welfare. During the course of his career, Steve has provided political consultation by serving on campaign teams of county, state and federal candidates.
Steve's career is marked in public service. He has held leadership roles in the Young Lawyer Divisions of the Allegheny County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, where he expanded student loan repayment plans for public lawyers and helped implement the “Wills for Heroes” program to assist first responders with estate planning. He is a court appointed special advocate. During college, Steve served as an intern in the Office of (former) First Lady Michele Ridge and in (former) Governor Tom Ridge's policy office for business investment, the Governor's Action Team. While attending law school, Steve worked in Duquesne University's Economic and Community Development Law Clinic, providing free legal services to community organizations. He also clerked in the U.S. Attorney's Office and was a licensed legal intern in the Governor's Office of General Counsel in Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.
Steve is a frequent lecturer on substantive criminal law, conducting education courses for attorneys and law enforcement; he contributes to academic texts and provides media commentary on police issues.
Court Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
Professional Memberships
- Allegheny County Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Washington County Bar Association
- Association of Government Lawyers in Capital Litigation
- Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculty
- Great Lakes Organized Crime Enforcement Network
- Mon Valley Chiefs of Police
- Mon Valley Police Association
- National District Attorneys Association
- National White Collar Crime Center
- Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association
- Pennsylvania Narcotic Officers Association
- Western Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police
- B.A.: PennWest California
- J.D.: Duquesne University School of Law