Phi Alpha Delta (P.A.D.), a co-ed law fraternity, is one of the newest Greek organizations on campus to be recognized by Student Government, Inc. this spring semester.
Founded in 1898 as Lambda Epsilon, the law fraternity was created in the wake of a legal controversy involving the Supreme Court of Illinois adopting a rule for admission to the Bar Exam. United together to fight for their rights, a student at the time formed the “Law Student League” to combat the unfair rule change.
Today, P.A.D. is the largest pre-law fraternity with specific programs targeting the needs of pre-law students. Membership is open to all, with an estimated 20% or one in five lawyers being a member of the fraternity. There are almost 370 chapters in operation and 260,000 members initiated, implementing an online member database for networking.
Junior Catherine Chin, president of the St. John’s chapter of Phi Alpha Delta, elaborated on the benefits.
“Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity will greatly benefit the students by providing conventions in which the students can network with legal professionals such as lawyers, judges, higher authorities, attorneys and many more,” she said.
The organization plans to hold a panel discussion with law students as well as an alumni dinner, according to Chin.
“Our chapter will be hosting the Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Leadership Symposia at St. John’s University, which is a one-day session consisting of workshops, seminars and speakers and it will be one of our biggest events this semester,” she said.
When the organization first started as Lambda Epsilon, the restrictive nature of its expansion procedure to other law schools, led to it being dissolved on July 16, 1902 and Phi Alpha Delta was formed the very next day. The mission is, “advancing integrity, compassion and courage through service to the student, the school, the profession and the community.”
Another benefit that P.A.D. also gives its members is access to a variety of prep courses and study material for the Bar exam as well as the LSAT. They also host one of the largest mock trials for law students in the country.
