Phi Delta Phi

Phi Delta Phi (ΦΔΦ), commonly known as Phid or PDP, is an international legal honor society and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Founded in 1869 at the University of Michigan 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, referred to as Fiji. His initial intent was to found a chapter of Fiji 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, 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 in Nova Scotia. The first unit in Mexico, the Velasco Inn, was chartered in 1973 at the Escuela Libre de Derecho, in Mexico City. 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 designated as an honor society in 2012.

Inns
Phi Delta Phi has 131 active chapters known as Inns. Each Inn is named for a noted jurist or member of the bar.

Some of the most notable chapters in the U.S. include the founder, Kent Inn at Michigan, Gibson-Alexander Inn at Penn, Story Inn at Columbia, Choate Inn art Harvard, Waite Inn at Yale, Conkling Inn at Cornell, Miller Inn at Stanford, Douglas Inn at the University of Chicago, Minor Inn at Virginia, Malone Inn at Vanderbilt, Vance Inn at North Carolina, Booth Inn at Northwestern, Hughes Inn at Duke, Scott Inn at Georgetown, Jones Inn at the University of California, Berkeley, Ruffin Inn at Wake Forest, and Lamar Inn at Emory.

Phi Delta Phi Inns are also located in Canada, Mexico, Germany and Poland. Notable international Inns include Santos Theriot Inn at University of Monterrey, Cabrera Inn at Universidad Iberoamericana, Palacios Macedo Inn at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, Martland Inn at University of Ottawa, Weizsäcker Inn at University of Tübingen, 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 University of Michigan, Washington University in St. Louis, Penn State University, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, University of South Carolina, 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.