honor society
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy S ...
and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Phi Delta Phi was originally a professional fraternity but became an honor society in 2012.
The fraternity was founded at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1869 "to promote a higher standard of professional ethics".
History
Phi Delta Phi Fraternity was founded in the
law department
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
of the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
by John M. Howard of the class of 1871. Howard was a graduate of
Monmouth College
Monmouth College is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Monmouth, Illinois. Monmouth enrolls approximately 900 students from 21 countries who choose courses from 40 major programs, 43 minors, and 17 pre-professional programs in a ...
and member of
Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Washington & Jefferson College, Jefferson C ...
(FIJI). His initial intent was to found a chapter of FIJI at the University, but he did not follow through with the plan because of the large number of chapters already in place on the campus. Howard instead turned his efforts toward founding a fraternity devoted purely to students of the legal profession.
Phi Delta Phi Inns have occasionally leased or owned residential buildings or secured meeting spaces, often adjacent to law libraries. Even during WWII, when law school admissions enrollments virtually ceased, all the Fraternity's inns remained active on a restricted basis. Thus, according to Baird's 20th, the fraternity sprang back to full strength "almost before the fighting had ceased."
The first international unit of the fraternity was the ''Weldon Inn'', chartered in 1925 at
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...
in
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
. The first unit in Mexico, the ''Velasco Inn'', was chartered in 1973 at the Escuela Libre de Derecho, in Mexico City.
After 140 years of operation as a professional fraternity, the Fraternity was re-cast as an
honor society
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy S ...
in 2012.
Inns
Phi Delta Phi has one hundred and thirty-one active chapters known as Inns. Each Inn is named for a noted jurist or member of the bar.Noted in the Fraternity' List of Chapters accessed 24 Oct 2021.
*Kent Inn, University of Michigan, 1869
*Sharswood Inn, University of Pennsylvania, 1875
*Story Inn, Columbia University, 1881
*Pomeroy Inn,
University of California, Hastings College of the Law
The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California as ...
, 1883
*Jay Inn, Albany Law School, 1884
*Gibson-Alexander Inn, University of Pennsylvania, 1886
* Choate Inn, Harvard University, 1887
*Waite Inn, Yale University, 1887
*Conkling Inn, Cornell University, 1888
*Miller Inn, Stanford University, 1897
*Douglas Inn, University of Chicago, 1903
*Jones Inn, University of California, Berkeley, 1913
See also
*
Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, ...
Phi Alpha Delta
Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International ( or P.A.D.) is the largest professional law fraternity in the United States. Founded in 1902, P.A.D. has since grown to 717 established pre-law, law, and alumni chapters and over 330,000 initiated m ...
(professional fraternity, law)
*
Phi Beta Gamma
Phi Beta Gamma () was a professional fraternity in the field of Law.
History
Phi Beta Gamma was founded on April 24, 1922 at Georgetown University School of Law. It was a founding member of the Professional Interfraternity Conference in 1928 a ...
(professional fraternity, law)
*
Phi Delta Delta
Phi Delta Delta () was a women's professional law fraternity founded in 1911. It merged with Phi Alpha Delta in 1972.Sigma Delta Kappa (professional fraternity, law)
* Kappa Alpha Pi (professional) (professional fraternity, pre-law)
* Kappa Beta Pi (originally women's professional fraternity, now legal association, law)
*
Nu Beta Epsilon
Nu Beta Epsilon () is a professional law fraternity .
History
The fraternity is the result of a merger between two substantially identical groups: Nu Beta Epsilon, founded in 1919 at Northwestern University School of Law and Alpha Kappa Sigma ( ...
(Jewish, originally men's professional fraternity, law, dormant?)