The Order of Barristers is an

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. ...

for United States

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

graduates. Membership in The Order of Barristers is limited to graduating law students and practicing lawyers who demonstrate exceptional skill in

trial advocacy Trial advocacy is the branch of knowledge concerned with making attorneys and other advocates more effective in trial proceedings. Trial advocacy is an essential trade skill for litigators and is taught in law schools and continuing legal educati ...

, oral advocacy, and brief writing. The Order of Barristers seeks to improve these programs through interscholastic sharing of ideas, information, and resources. The Order is highly selective and provides national recognition to the top advocates at their respective law schools.

History

The Order of Barristers originated in 1965 at The

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

School of Law. The purpose was to honor graduating 3Ls (third-year law students) who had demonstrated outstanding ability in the preparation and presentation of moot appellate argument. These students were selected by the Faculty Committee on Legal Research and Writing and the Director of the Moot Court Program. The Order continued as a local honorary society until 1968 when the administrators of The Order initiated plans for expansion on a national basis. The law schools in the thirteen regions represented at the National Moot Court Competition were contacted, and favorable response to expansion was received. The Order was officially established as a national organization in 1970. A

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

was adopted, and The University of Texas at Austin School of Law was elected Permanent Secretary on December 16, 1970, at the initial meeting of the Board of Governors during the final round of the National Moot Court Competition in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. During the spring of 1971, a number of schools submitted applications for membership and the current roll boasts over 100 law school chapters throughout the United States. Schools having chapters in The Order include those nationally recognized for outstanding moot court programs and for successful participation in regional, national, and international interscholastic moot court competitions. In 1973, Martindale-Hubbell, Inc. acknowledged the distinction of being selected to membership in The Order by agreeing to list it among the scholastic distinctions included in a lawyer's biographical sketch.

Membership

Today, chapters of The Order of Barristers select graduating students showing particular excellence in advocacy programs. The selection method varies by chapter, but the criteria are set by the constitution of The Order: # Membership on interscholastic teams; # Participation for tryouts for interscholastic teams; # Participation and performance in intramural competitions; # Participation and performance in the administration of the school's moot court and

mock trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisti ...

program; # Participation and performance in a teaching program for brief writing and/or oral advocacy skills to other law students; and, # Performance record in the school's brief writing and/or oral advocacy courses. Any selection to the membership of The Order must include at least two of these criteria. The constitution also limits each chapter's selection of membership to The Order by number, depending on the number of students per year "who actually participate in the current year in a faculty supervised and sanctioned moot court or mock trial program." For chapters with 100 or less active student participants that year, the number of members that may be selected is limited to eight. For chapters with up to 200, the number of members that may be selected is limited to nine. For chapters with over 200 active participants, the number of members that may be selected is limited to ten.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Order of Barristers Honor societies Student organizations established in 1965 1965 establishments in Texas

History

Membership

See also

References