Phi Delta Phi (), commonly known as Phid or PDP, is an international legal

honor society In the United States, an honor society is an organization that recognizes individuals who rank above a set standard in various domains such as academics, leadership, and other personal achievements, not all of which are based on ranking systems. ...

and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Founded in 1869 at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

as a professional fraternity, it was designated as an honor society in 2012. It is considered among the world's most prestigious professional organizations. Phi Delta Phi is organized by two branches: legal honor societies and pre-law societies. The legal honor societies, called Inns, are located at law schools. The pre-law societies, called Halls, are for undergraduate membership at U.S. colleges and universities. With a total membership of over 200,000 people, members of Phi Delta Phi include five U.S. presidents, two U.S. vice presidents, 14 Supreme Court justices, and numerous members of Congress, Cabinet members, and ambassadors.

History

Phi Delta Phi was founded on December 13, 1869 at the University of Michigan Law School by John M. Howard, a first year law student. Howard was a graduate of Monmouth College and member of Phi Gamma Delta. His initial intent was to found a chapter of Phi Gamma Delta at Michigan, 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. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when law school admissions enrollments virtually ceased, all of the Inns remained active on a restricted basis. 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, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. The first unit in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, the Velasco Inn, was chartered in 1973 at the Escuela Libre de Derecho, in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. The first unit in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the Roman Herzog Inn, was chartered in 2006 at the Bucerius Law School, in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. After 140 years of operation as a professional fraternity, the fraternity was designated as an

in 2012. In the same year the fraternity began chartering Halls as undergraduate pre-law chapters.

Chapters

Inns

Phi Delta Phi has 131 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. Some of the most notable chapters in the U.S. include the founder, Kent Inn at

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, Gibson-Alexander Inn at Penn, Story Inn at Columbia, Choate Inn art

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

, Waite Inn at Yale, Conkling Inn at Cornell, Miller Inn at Stanford, Douglas Inn at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, Minor Inn at

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, Malone Inn at Vanderbilt, Vance Inn at

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, Booth Inn at Northwestern, Hughes Inn at

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, Scott Inn at Georgetown, Jones Inn at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, Ruffin Inn at Wake Forest, and Lamar Inn at Emory. Phi Delta Phi Inns are also located in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Notable international Inns include Santos Theriot Inn at University of Monterrey, Cabrera Inn at

Universidad Iberoamericana The Ibero-American University (), also referred to by its acronym ''UIA'' but commonly known as ''Ibero'' or ''La Ibero'', is a private, Catholic, Mexican higher education institution, sponsored by the Mexican province of the Society of Jesus ( ...

, Palacios Macedo Inn at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, Martland Inn at

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

, Weizsäcker Inn at

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

, and Hoffman-Becking Inn at Goethe University Frankfurt.

Halls

The honor society has numerous undergraduate chapters, called Halls. Some of the Halls are located at the

, Washington University in St. Louis, Penn State University, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign,

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

, and Loyola Marymount University.

Notable members

Over more than one and a half centuries, Phi Delta Phi members have contributed significantly to various areas, specifically the law and politics. Phi Delta Phi's affiliates include five U.S. presidents, two U.S. vice presidents, and fourteen Supreme Court justices. File:Mckinley.jpg, 25th President of the United States

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

File:President Theodore Roosevelt, 1904.jpg, 26th President of the United States

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

File:William Howard Taft.jpg, 27th President of the United States William H. Taft File:Franklin D. Roosevelt 1936 june.jpg, 32nd President of the United States

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

File:Gerald Ford presidential portrait (cropped).jpg, 38th President of the United States

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

File:Robert F Kennedy crop.jpg, United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy File:42 Walter Mondale 3x4.jpg, 42nd Vice President of the United States Walter Mondale File:Dan Quayle.jpg, 44th Vice President of the United States

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

File:Thurgood-marshall-2.jpg, Associate Justice of the United States Thurgood Marshall File:Sandra Day O'Connor Official Portrait.jpg, Associate Justice of the United States Sandra Day O'Connor File:Earl Warren.jpg, Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren File:William Rehnquist.jpg, Chief Justice of the United States William Rehnquist File:Anthony Kennedy official SCOTUS portrait.jpg, Associate Justice of the United States Anthony Kennedy File:Antonin Scalia Official SCOTUS Portrait.jpg, Associate Justice of the United States Antonin Scalia File:Charles Evans Hughes cph.3b15401.jpg, Chief Justice of the United States

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American politician, academic, and jurist who served as the 11th chief justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

File:Benjamin Cardozo.jpg, Associate Justice of the United States Benjamin N. Cardozo File:Owen Josephus Roberts portrait.jpg, Associate Justice of the United States Owen Roberts File:HugoLaFayetteBlack.jpg, Associate Justice of the United States Hugo Black File:US Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell - 1976 official portrait.jpg, Associate Justice of the United States Lewis F. Powell, Jr. File:Justice White Official.jpg, Associate Justice of the United States Byron White File:John Paul Stevens, SCOTUS photo portrait.jpg, Associate Justice of the United States

John Paul Stevens John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-oldes ...

File:Rayburn-Sam-LOC.jpg, 43rd Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Sam Rayburn File:Howard Baker.jpg, United States Senator Howard Baker File:Portrait of Fmr. Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana, 1987.jpg, United States Senator Birch Bayh File:Daniel Inouye, official Senate photo portrait, 2008.jpg, United States Senator

Daniel Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( , , September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American attorney, soldier, and statesman who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. A Medal of Honor recipi ...

File:Patrick Leahy 117th Congress.jpeg, United States Senator Patrick Leahy File:Portrait officiel de William French Smith.jpg, 74th United States Attorney General William French Smith File:Edwin Meese III Attorney General portrait (cropped1).jpg, 75th United States Attorney General Edwin Meese File:Adlai Stevenson II (1).jpg, 31st Governor of Illinois Adlai Stevenson II File:Robert Bork.jpg, Solicitor General of the United States Robert Bork File:Kenneth W. Starr.jpg, Solicitor General of the United States Ken Starr File:Leon Jaworski.jpeg, Watergate scandal special prosecutor Leon Jaworski File:Pamela Lynn Carter (born 1949) at World Economic Forum Davos 2023.png, 38th Indiana Attorney General Pamela Carter

References

{{Authority control Student organizations established in 1869 Legal organizations based in the United States 1869 establishments in Michigan Former members of Professional Fraternity Association Professional legal fraternities and sororities in the United States Honor societies