Phi Delta Phi
ΦΔΦ
The Coat of Arms of Phi Delta Phi
FoundedDecember 13, 1869 (1869-12-13)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
TypeHonor society (formerly professional until 2012)
AffiliationIndependent, PFA (former)
ScopeInternational
 United States
 Canada
 Mexico
 Germany
 Poland
MottoFriends of Justice and Wisdom
Colors  Garnet and   Pearl Blue
SymbolOwl, Skull
FlowerJacqueminot Rose
PublicationThe Brief
Chapterscalled "Inns" 131
Members200,000+ lifetime
Headquarters1426 21st Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
USA
WebsitePhi Delta Phi Website

Phi Delta Phi (ΦΔΦ) is an international legal honor society 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 in 1869 "to promote a higher standard of professional ethics".

History

Phi Delta Phi Fraternity was founded in the law department of the University of Michigan by John M. Howard of the class of 1871. Howard was a graduate of Monmouth College and member of Phi Gamma Delta (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.[1][2]

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 in Nova Scotia. The first unit in Mexico, the Velasco Inn, was chartered in 1973 at the Escuela Libre de Derecho, in Mexico City.[1] The first unit in Germany, the Roman Herzog Inn, was chartered in 2006 at the Bucerius Law School, in Hamburg.

After 140 years of operation as a professional fraternity, the Fraternity was re-cast as an honor society in 2012.[3]

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.[1][4]

  • 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, 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

References

  1. 1 2 3 Anson, Jack L.; Marchenasi, Robert F., eds. (1991) [1879]. Baird's Manual of American Fraternities (20th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. p. V-39-41. ISBN 978-0963715906.
  2. ↑ York, Kenneth H. (1952). "Legal Fraternities" (PDF). Michigan Law Review. The Michigan Law Review Association. 50 (7): 1047–56. doi:10.2307/1284939. JSTOR 1284939. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  3. ↑ Explained more fully in the Fraternity's historical record, accessed 24 oct 2021.
  4. ↑ Noted in the Fraternity's List of Chapters, accessed 24 Oct 2021.
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