Max Cotton currently serves as a Deputy Director of the Pre-Trial Division, a position he has held since October 2018. He helps manage the day-to-day responsibilities of the division’s workload and works closely with new attorneys who are navigating the challenges of practicing criminal law. He also represents clients in a variety of motions hearings in the Court of Common Pleas and in the Orphans Court.
During law school, Max interned with the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Columbus, Ohio, researching federal criminal law and drafting various motions. After passing the Pennsylvania Bar in 2012, he began working at the Allegheny County Office of the Public Defender. After 18 months in the Pre-Trial Division, he began taking on cases in the trial stage in the Court of Common Pleas. During his three years in the Trial Division, he defended hundreds of clients with charges ranging from retail theft to homicide.
Max earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from John Carroll University in 2009 and a Juris Doctorate at the Claude Pettit College of Law at Ohio Northern University in 2011.
Courses Taught at Pitt
- LCJS 1200 - Criminal Law
Education & Training
- JD - Claude Pettit College of Law at Ohio Northern University
- BS, Sociology - John Carroll University