Pitegoff began his career in the mid-1970s as a community organizer in rural North Carolina and in Oakland, California, following his undergraduate concentration in American civilization and teacher certification for secondary school social studies.
degree, he served from 1981 to 1988 as general counsel for the ICA Group, a Massachusetts consulting firm that assists community economic development initiatives and worker-owned enterprises nationwide.
Following his decade as Dean, Pitegoff remained at Maine Law as a full-time professor through summer 2023, when he earned emeritus status.
From 2020 to 2024, he served on the board of directors of the Surf Point Foundation, an arts and artist residency institution in York, Maine.
He has been a frequent panelist at a range of conferences and workshops, and serves on the Executive Committee of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on Community Economic Development.