Order of the Coif

Order of the Coif
Founded	1902 (1902) University of Illinois College of Law
Type	Honor society
Affiliation	Independent
Former affiliation	ACHS
Status	Active
Emphasis	law graduates
Scope	National
Colors	Maroon and   Black
Symbol	Serjeant-at-law with Wig and Coif
Chapters	87
Members	25,000 lifetime
Headquarters	West Virginia University College of Law 101 Law School Drive Morgantown, West Virginia 26506 United States
Website	orderofthecoif.org

The Order of the Coif (/ˈkɔɪf/) is an American honor society for law school graduates. The Order was founded in 1902 at the University of Illinois College of Law. 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, which came to be represented by a round piece of white lace worn on top of the advocate's wig. A student who earns a Juris Doctor degree and graduates in the top ten percent of their class is eligible for membership if the student's law school has a chapter of the Order.

History

Medieval coif as worn by Aaron of Sur, 1500-1550

The University of Illinois College of Law established what would become the Order of the Coif in 1902. According to the organization's constitution, "The purpose of The Order is to encourage excellence in legal education by fostering a spirit of careful study, recognizing those who as law students attained a high grade of scholarship, and honoring those who as lawyers, judges and teachers attained high distinction for their scholarly or professional accomplishments."

In the late 19th century, several leading American law schools had established honors fraternities to recognize scholarship and distinction within the ranks of Juris Doctors in the United States. One of these, at the University of Illinois, was originally named Theta Kappa Nu. It inspired several additional chapters in Nebraska, Missouri, and Wisconsin. A local legal honor society had formed in 1907 at Northwestern University, adopting the name Order of the Coif, but three years later, in 1910, would accept a charter from Theta Kappa Nu. Even with this charter the Northwestern group retained use of the earlier name, which was one of the factors which necessitated a discussion and eventual negotiation of a merger, and not just an absorption.

Also, in 1910 chapters at Iowa and Michigan were formed. Rapid expansion and divergent practices at these early schools led to calls for a national convention. At this meeting, in 1911, it was determined to adopt the original name of the Northwestern group, the Order of the Coif, along with a revised constitution that was fully ratified in 1912. Thus the American Order of the Coif dates to its earliest group, in Illinois, from 1902, and adopted its name from both the Northwestern group and its institutional inspiration, the English Order.

Symbols

The symbolism of the Order of the Coif is far older, having evolved from the legal traditions of the Middle Ages in England. The Coif itself originated as a tight-fitting headpiece once used by both men and women. A version of this, in the form a close-fitting hood that covered all but the face, was adopted as a symbol for those barristers who had been recognized as serjeants-at-law and thus formed the narrow pool of legal practitioners who could be appointed judges of the Court of Common Pleas or, later, of the King's Bench. With this distinctive apparel, the serjeants-at-law became known as "serjeants of the coif" and their group within society as the original Order of the Coif; this predecessor inspired the name and markings of the American Order, although beyond inspiration there is no legal connection between the two. White wigs were so often sewn onto the coif that their usage became conjoined.

One of the earliest known (English) serjeants of the coif was a man named Geoffrey Ridel, named so in the year 1117. The early writer, Geoffrey Chaucer made mention of Serjeants at Law in the preface to his novel, The Canterbury Tales. Through the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, important English jurists were so recognized: Bacon, Blackburn, Blackstone, Campbell, Cavendish, Coke, Coleridge, Fortesque, Glanville, and Littleton, these may be the best known. But in the 18th century, rumblings of dissatisfaction with this arrangement grew. The English Order's privileged hold on the court was finally ended when a Crown Warrant was issued in 1839 which commanded Common Pleas to permit "gentlemen of the bar generally" to be allowed to practice before it. Objections were litigated briefly, but by the following year, the matter had been settled with the power of the Order broken. Its last meeting was held in 1877.

The wig and coif remain standard courtroom attire today in England and Commonwealth countries.

Membership

The induction process varies by law school, but students are generally notified of their membership after the final class ranks at their schools are announced. A new member receives a certificate of membership, a badge of membership for wear during academic ceremonies, a Coif key, and in some cases an actual coif or a representation of one.

The basic requirement for membership is ranking in the top 10% of a member school's graduating class. If a member law school graduates fewer than 30 students, it may induct its top three students. A school can decide not to allow an otherwise eligible student to receive the honor and may impose additional requirements for membership beyond the organization's national requirement of being in the top 10% of the class.

Each member school may also induct a faculty member and one honorary member each year. The national organization's executive committee may also elect a limited number of honorary members. Those chosen for honorary membership are usually U.S. Supreme Court justices and other preeminent members of the legal profession.

Chapters

As of December 2022, 87 of 203 United States law schools accredited by the American Bar Association to award the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree had Order of the Coif chapters. Following is a list of chapters of Order of the Coif.

Charter date	Institution	Location	Status	References
1902	University of Illinois College of Law	Champaign, Illinois	Active
1904	University of Nebraska College of Law	Lincoln, Nebraska	Active
1906	University of Missouri School of Law	Columbia, Missouri	Active
1907	Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law	Chicago, Illinois	Active
1908	University of Wisconsin Law School	Madison, Wisconsin	Active
1909	University of Virginia School of Law	Charlottesville, Virginia	Active
1911	University of Iowa College of Law	Iowa City, Iowa	Active
1911	University of Michigan Law School	Ann Arbor, Michigan	Active
1912	Case Western Reserve University School of Law	Cleveland, Ohio	Active
1912	University of Chicago Law School	Chicago, Illinois	Active
1912	University of Pennsylvania Law School	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Active
1912	University of Pittsburgh School of Law	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Active
1912	Stanford Law School	Stanford, California	Active
1915	Cornell Law School	Ithaca, New York	Active
1915	University of Minnesota Law School	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Active
1915	Ohio State University Moritz College of Law	Columbus, Ohio	Active
1919	Yale Law School	New Haven, Connecticut	Active
1924	University of Kansas School of Law	Lawrence, Kansas	Active
1924	University of Washington School of Law	Seattle, Washington	Active
1924	Washington University School of Law	St. Louis, Missouri.	Active
1925	Indiana University Maurer School of Law	Bloomington, Indiana	Active
1925	University of North Dakota School of Law	Grand Forks, North Dakota	Active
1925	University of Oklahoma College of Law	Norman, Oklahoma	Active
1925	West Virginia University College of Law	Morgantown, West Virginia	Active
1926	George Washington University Law School	Washington, D.C.	Active
1926	University of Texas School of Law	Austin, Texas	Active
1927	University of California-Berkeley School of Law	Berkeley, California	Active
1928	University of Cincinnati College of Law	Cincinnati, Ohio	Active
1928	University of North Carolina School of Law	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	Active
1929	University of Southern California Gould School of Law	Los Angeles, California	Active
1931	University of Kentucky College of Law	Lexington, Kentucky	Active
1931	Tulane University Law School	New Orleans, Louisiana	Active
1933	Duke University School of Law	Durham, North Carolina	Active
1934	University of Oregon School of Law	Eugene, Oregon	Active
1938	University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law	Baltimore, Maryland	Active
1942	University of Colorado Law School	Boulder, Colorado	Active
1942	Paul M. Hebert Law Center	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Active
1948	Vanderbilt University Law School	Nashville, Tennessee	Active
1950	Washington and Lee University School of Law	Lexington, Virginia	Active
1951	University of Tennessee College of Law	Knoxville, Tennessee	Active
1952	Drake University Law School	Des Moines, Iowa	Active
1952	Syracuse University College of Law	Syracuse, New York	Active
1953	University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law	Salt Lake City, Utah	Active
1954	University of California Hastings College of Law	San Francisco, California	Active
1954	University of California, Los Angeles School of Law	Los Angeles, California	Active
1955	University of Florida College of Law	Gainesville, Florida	Active
1959	New York University School of Law	Manhattan, New York City, New York	Active
1961	Villanova University School of Law	Villanova, Pennsylvania	Active
1964	Boston College Law School	Newton, Massachusetts	Active
1966	Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law	Dallas, Texas	Active
1969	University of Alabama School of Law	Tuscaloosa, Alabama	Active
1969	University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law	Tucson, Arizona	Active
1971	Emory University School of Law	Atlanta, Georgia	Active
1971	University of New Mexico School of Law	Albuquerque, New Mexico	Active
1972	University of California, Davis School of Law	Davis, California	Active
1974	Texas Tech University School of Law	Lubbock, Texas	Active
1977	University of Georgia School of Law	Athens, Georgia	Active
1979	Florida State University College of Law	Tallahassee, Florida	Active
1981	William & Mary Law School	Williamsburg, Virginia	Active
1982	University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law	Sacramento, California	Active
1982	University of South Carolina School of Law	Columbia, South Carolina	Active
1983	University of Houston Law Center	Houston, Texas	Active
1984	Arizona State University College of Law	Phoenix, Arizona	Active
1984	Brigham Young University Law School	Provo, Utah	Active
1984	University of Toledo College of Law	Toledo, Ohio	Active
1984	Wayne State University Law School	Detroit, Michigan	Active
1985	University of Wyoming College of Law	Laramie, Wyoming	Active
1988	Georgetown University Law Center	Washington, D.C.	Active
1989	Chicago-Kent College of Law	Chicago, Illinois	Active
1989	University of Miami School of Law	Coral Gables, Florida	Active
1990	Loyola Law School	Los Angeles, California	Active
1992	DePaul University College of Law	Chicago, Illinois	Active
1994	American University Washington College of Law	Washington, D.C.	Active
1994	Fordham University School of Law	Manhattan, New York City, New York	Active
1996	University of San Diego School of Law	San Diego, California	Active
1997	Wake Forest University School of Law	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	Active
1999	Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law	New York City, New York	Active
2004	Santa Clara University School of Law	Santa Clara, California	Active
2004	Seton Hall University School of Law	Newark, New Jersey	Active
2008	Pepperdine University School of Law	Malibu, California	Active
2012	University of Richmond School of Law	Richmond, Virginia	Active
2014	University at Buffalo Law School	Amherst, New York	Active
2014	Temple University Beasley School of Law	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Active
2016	University of Denver Sturm College of Law	Denver, Colorado	Active
2016	Georgia State University College of Law	Atlanta, Georgia	Active
2018	Rutgers Law School	Newark and Camden, New Jersey	Active
2019	Texas A&M University School of Law	Fort Worth, Texas	Active
2022	Penn State Law	University Park, Pennsylvania	Active

Notable members

Main article: List of Order of the Coif members

Credentials obtainable while in law school

Within each U.S. law school, key credentials include:

• Law review/Law journal membership or editorial position (based either on grades or write-on competition or both). This is important for at least three reasons. First, because it is determined by either grades or writing ability, membership is an indicator of strong academic performance. This leads to the second reason, which is that potential employers sometimes use law review membership in their hiring criteria. Third, work on law review exposes a student to legal scholarship and editing, and often allows the student to publish a significant piece of legal scholarship on his or her own. Most law schools have a "flagship" journal usually called "School name Law Review" (for example, the Harvard Law Review—although some schools call their flagship journal "School name Law Journal"; see Yale Law Journal) that publishes articles on all areas of law, and one or more other specialty law journals that publish articles concerning only a particular area of the law (for example, the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology).
• Moot court membership or award (based on oral and written argument). Success in moot court can distinguish one as an outstanding oral advocate and provides a degree of practical legal training that is often absent from law review membership. Moot court and related activities, such as Trial Advocacy and Dispute Resolution, may appeal especially to employers hiring for litigation positions, such as a district attorney's office.
• Mock trial membership and awards (based on trial level advocacy skills) also can distinguish one as an outstanding trial advocate and help develop "real world" skills that are often valuable to employers hiring for litigation positions.
• Order of the Coif membership (based on grade point average). This is often coupled with Latin honors (summa and magna cum laude, though often not cum laude). However, a slight majority of law schools in the U.S. do not have Order of the Coif chapters.
• Phi Delta Phi, International Honor Society membership (based on class ranking of the top one-third). This prestigious society is organized around student chapters called "Inns", and the society has inducted many historic figures including five U.S. presidents, two U.S. vice presidents, 14 Supreme Court justices, and numerous members of Congress, Cabinet members, and ambassadors. .

State and federal court clerkship

Further information: Law clerk

On the basis of a student's credentials, as well as favorable faculty recommendations, some students obtain a one or two-year clerkship with a judge after graduation. While the majority of judges traditionally choose incoming clerks while they are still in law school, or as they complete another clerkship, in the 2020s; some judges seek out clerks with some private law practice experience.

Clerkships may be with state or federal judges, and are meant to provide the recent law school graduate with experience working for a judge. Often, clerks engage in significant legal research and writing for the judge, writing memos to assist a judge in coming to a legal conclusion in some cases, and writing drafts of opinions based on the judge's decisions. Appellate court clerkships, although generally more prestigious, do not necessarily give one a great deal of practical experience in the day-to-day life of a lawyer in private practice. The average litigator might get much more out of a clerkship at the trial court level, where they will be learning about motions practices, dealing with lawyers, and generally learning how a trial court works from the inside.

Court clerkships may also provide other valuable assets to a young lawyer; judges often become mentors to their clerks, providing the fledgling attorney with an experienced individual from whom to seek advice. Fellow clerks may also become enduring connections. Law schools encourage graduates to engage in a clerkship to broaden their professional experiences. However, there fewer clerkships than there are academically eligible graduates.

United States Supreme Court clerkship

Some law school graduates are able to clerk for one of the Justices on the Supreme Court (each Justice takes two to four clerks per year). Often, these clerks are graduates of elite law schools, with Harvard, Yale, the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, Columbia, the University of Virginia, and Stanford being among the most highly represented schools. Justice Clarence Thomas is the major exception to the rule that Justices hire clerks from elite schools; he takes pride in selecting clerks from non-top-tier schools, and publicly noted that his clerks have been attacked on the Internet as "third tier trash".

Most Supreme Court clerks have clerked in a lower court, often for a year with a highly selective federal circuit court judge (such as Judges Alex Kozinski, Michael Luttig, J. Harvie Wilkinson, David Tatel, Richard Posner) known as a "feeder judge". It is perhaps the most highly selective and prestigious position a recently graduated lawyer can have, and Supreme Court clerks are often highly sought after by law firms, the government, and law schools. Law firms give Supreme Court clerks as much as a $400,000 bonus for signing with their firm. The vast majority of Supreme Court clerks either become academics at elite law schools, enter private practice as appellate attorneys, or take highly selective government positions.

Lady Justice

See also

• Professional fraterities and sororities
• Honor society

Further reading

• Michael Herz, Coif Comes to Cardozo, Cardozo Life (Spring 1999) (includes information on the order's history).
• Frank R. Strong, Order of the Coif: English Antecedents and American Adaptation, 63 A.B.A. J. 1725-1727 (1977).

External links

• Official website