Michele R. Pistone

Michele R. Pistone is a Professor of Law at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. She founded and directs the Strategic Initiative for Migrants + Refugees and VIISTA, and established Villanova’s in-house Clinical Program, leading it for nine years and directing the Clinic for Asylum, Refugee and Emigrant Services (CARES) from 1999 to 2019. She has also taught at Georgetown University Law Center, served as a Visiting Professor at American University Washington College of Law, and been a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Malta.

Her research focuses on technological innovations in legal education and practice, with emphasis on asylum law, refugee law, immigration policy, and Catholic social thought. She advocates for systemic reforms in legal education and migration systems, leveraging online technologies and learning sciences.

Pistone co-authored the influential book Disrupting Law School: How Disruptive Innovation Will Revolutionize the Legal World and Stepping Out of the Brain Drain: Applying Catholic Social Teaching in a New Era of Migration. Her recent publications highlight solutions for unrepresented immigrants and systemic changes in legal representation.

Scientific Awards:

• Fulbright Scholar
• Adjunct Fellow at Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation

She founded LegalED, an online platform for legal education, and organized TEDx conferences on teaching. Her work spans corporate law practice, academic leadership, and advocacy for immigrant justice through paraprofessional integration.