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Attorney Christine T. Elzer has a wide range of experience in employment and civil rights litigation. In an era when only about 2% of civil cases make it to trial, Christine stands out as an experienced trial lawyer. She is a member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, a prestigious group of "civil trial lawyers who have exhibited excellence and the highest level of ethical standards and professionalism." The Academy undertakes a rigorous selection process and caps membership at 250 attorneys. She is also a Fellow in the Wendell G. Freeland Society, a litigation excellence society in Western Pennsylvania that also caps membership at 250. Christine has participated in the National Employment Lawyers Association's (NELA's) Trial Boot Camp, an intense three-day seminar taught by some of the best employee-side trial lawyers in the country, which culiminates in a mock trial of a real employment case. In 2019, she attended Trial Boot Camp an advocate. In 2022, she returned as a co-team leader and presenter.
Ms. Elzer is heavily involved in both national and local legal communities. She speaks on multiple continuing legal education panels every year on various topics involving employment law and litigation. She is serving her second three-year term on the Board of NELA, as the only attorney from Western Pennsylvania on this national Board. She is the Co-Chair of NELA's Amicus Advisory Council. She has served on numerous other NELA committees, including twelve years on its Judicial Nominations Committee. She served as the Chair of the Western Pennsylvania Employment Lawyers Association (WPELA), a NELA affiliate, for four years, as the longest-serving, youngest, and first woman Chair. She continues to serve as WPELA's Amicus Committee Chair, where she coordinates the submission of appellate briefs in support of workers' rights issues in Pennsylvania. Christine is also a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA), including its Labor and Employment and Federal Court sections.
Christine has also been a trained mediator since 2015. She served on the Board of Directors of the Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania for six years, where she held officer positions. She appears on the approved list of neutrals for the Western District of Pennsylvania's ADR program. She has spoken to audiences several times on Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE) as a form of alternative dispute resolution. She also provides mediation services pro bono for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations. Additionally, she serves as a mediator and arbitrator for Allegheny County's Housing Court, and as an arbitrator for Allegheny County's arbitration program.
Ms. Elzer was selected by Best Lawyers in America for 2025 and 2026, and by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers from 2023-2025. Prior to that, she spent twelve consecutive years on Pennsylvania Super Lawyers' Rising Stars list. This honor is awarded to no more than 2.5% of the attorneys in the state. She has a perfect rating on Avvo.com, where her clients have described her as "a knowledgeable attorney who has your best interest at heart,” and whose “professionalism and attention to detail is extremely meticulous.” She is admitted to practice before all Pennsylvania state and federal courts, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the US Supreme Court.
EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF LAW
Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, 2008
Honors
- Order of the Coif
- Dean’s Scholarship
- CALI Awards (Highest Grade)
- Legal Analysis and Writing; Gender and Law; Spanish for Lawyers 2
- Legal Analysis and Writing; Gender and Law; Spanish for Lawyers 2
Activities
- University of Pittsburgh Law Review: Senior Topics Editor
- Teaching Assistant: Legal Analysis and Writing
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, 2005
Majors: Sociology and Spanish
Certificate: Latin American Studies
Honors
- University Scholar Award for Top 2% of Class
- V.F. Rodriguez Award, Best Research Proposal for Study Abroad
- Robert W. Avery Award for Top Sociology Major
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
National Employment Lawyers Association: Board Member, 2020-present; Amicus Advisory Council Co-Chair, 2023-present; Judicial Nominations Committee Member, 2013-2025; Member, 2010-present
Western Pennsylvania Employment Lawyers Association: Chair: 2018-2022;
Vice Chair: 2016-2018; Amicus Committee Chair: 2012-present
Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania: Board Member, 2018-2024; Vice President, 2023-2024; Information Officer: 2020-2022
Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County: Member, 2022-present; Vice Chair, Federal Practice Committee, 2024; Chair, Federal Practice Committee, 2025-present.
Wendell G. Freeland Society: Fellow, 2024-present
NELA-Eastern Pennsylvania: Member, 2015-present
Allegheny County Bar Association: Member, Labor and Employment Section, 2008-present; Federal Court Section, 2023-present
AWARDS
Best Lawyers in America: 2025-2026
Pennsylvania Super Lawyers: 2023-2025
Pennsylvania Super Lawyers: Rising Star, 2011-2022