ORDER OF THE COIF

[lai]

How prestigious? How do you join?

[06072010]

Pretty prestigious. Not all law schools have it. Top 10% at my school.

[lai]

What school is that? If I may ask...

[kiskadee321]

Really quite prestigious. Dates back ages to Europe. Been in the states since 1902. Only top 10% in class of member schools or various faculty with significant academic achievements are invited:

http://www.orderofthecoif.org/COIF-history.htm

What's with NYU having a chapter but not Columbia, an Ivy Leaguer?

http://www.orderofthecoif.org/COIF-members.htm

Is it safe to say that it is the Phi Beta Kappa of law school?

[ddorner04]

You don't "join." In fact, you don't even know you made it until graduation.

[Mrkottonmouth]

I didn't see Notre Dame on the list as a member of the Order. Does anyone know why? Is this something that should seriously weigh in on my decision making?

[kn6542]

Order of the Dwarf, FTW!

[Rayster]

I didn't see Notre Dame on the list as a member of the Order. Does anyone know why? Is this something that should seriously weigh in on my decision making?

Probably not. It is an honor to be asked, but top 10% is top 10% order of the coif or not.

[jaliebs]

I didn't see Notre Dame on the list as a member of the Order. Does anyone know why? Is this something that should seriously weigh in on my decision making?

It may be because ND doesn't rank the class, therefore there is no top 10%.

[Formerbruin]

Neither is Harvard. I wouldn't worry too much.

ND does have a Dean's List, which amounts to the same thing.

[conch republic]

h wrote:
I didn't see Notre Dame on the list as a member of the Order. Does anyone know why? Is this something that should seriously weigh in on my decision making?


It may be because ND doesn't rank the class, therefore there is no top 10%.

That's correct.

Neither is Harvard.

Harvard, Columbia, & George Mason don't have chapters because they have their own honorary awards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_coif

[gatosenlapiscina]

Is Boston U a member? I don't see them on either the Wikipedia article or the Order of the Coif membership listing

[nellie06]

Basically, schools like harvard and cls chose not to be schools that elect people to the order of the coif. The aforementioned schools have their own honors to recognize superior academic acheivement. I think cls has the kent scholar award or something like that for people who get a certain amount of a's, and i'm sure hls and other schools have similar 'scholar' awards.

Regardless, if someone graduates magna cum laude or the extremely rare summa cum laude, it can pretty much be assumed they would be order of the coif even if their school doesn't give people that honor. Firms/academia most likely care more about people making review anyways, since it's more subjective than the order of the coif. That's strictly awarded by class rank, so once you have the right gpa you get it. It's the law school version of a gold star for a good grade you used to get in elementary school.

[conch republic]

What does it take to get magna cum laude or summa cum laude?

Does it vary by school?

[Formerbruin]

Does it vary by school?

Yes

[FLS08]

Here's a nice resource that describes the criteria for graduating with honors at the top 50 schools, among other information:

http://www.bcgsearch.com/pdf/BCG_Law_Sc ... e_2007.pdf

[nonunique]

Firms/academia most likely care more about people making review anyways, since it's more subjective than the order of the coif. That's strictly awarded by class rank, so once you have the right gpa you get it. It's the law school version of a gold star for a good grade you used to get in elementary school.

Order of the Coif is discretionary (at least at NU)...not strictly top 10%. How much more subjective do you have to get?

[Mrkottonmouth]

Yea, I think the original poster meant objective and it was just a typo and/or a slip.

[Go Bears]

An old friend of mine was "Order of the Coif" at UChicago. Needless to say, she's done OK for herself career-wise.