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Penn Law School Collection

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]3460 Chestnut Street, Biddle Law Library, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3406

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
BLL.002
Repository:
University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library
Extent:
3.75 linear feet
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
[Identification of item], in the Penn Law School Collection, BLL.002, Biddle Law Library, University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Date:
1873-2010 (inclusive)
Creator:
University of Pennsylvania. Law School
Form:
Invitations, Minutes (administrative records), Architectural drawings (visual works), Programs (documents), and Publications
Abstract:
The University of Pennsylvania Law School was founded in 1850 as the law department of the University of Pennsylvania. In fulfilling its core mission of providing legal education and scholarship, the school has hosted lecture series, symposiums, and other educational programs, and its students, faculty, and alumni have taken part in the activities of various academic legal societies. The school has undergone several renovations and construction projects over the years. In addition, the school has engaged in institutional development activities, including alumni relations and other promotional programs. Members of the school community have also taken part in a variety of extra-curricular activities and law school related social events. The Penn Law School Collection, 1890-2010, includes publications related to the law school's administration, student life, alumni activities, academic programs, departments, and history; promotional materials, invitations, and programs for events related to the law school; correspondence, minutes, and other material pertaining to the Penn Law School chapter of the Order of the Coif, an honorary legal society; and notes, correspondence, building plans, publications, and other material related to law school construction and renovations projects from the 1950s to the 1990s.

The University of Pennsylvania Law School was founded in 1850 as the law department of the University of Pennsylvania. In fulfilling its core mission of providing legal education and scholarship, the school has, among other activities, hosted lecture series, symposiums, and other educational programs, and its students, faculty, and alumni have taken part in the activities of various academic legal societies. The school has undergone several renovations and construction projects over the years so as to expand the resources available to students and faculty. In addition, the school has engaged in institutional development activities, including alumni relations and other promotional programs. Members of the school community have also taken part in a variety of extra-curricular activities and law school related social events.

The Penn Law School Collection, 1873-2010, includes publications and other materials related to the law school's administration, student life, alumni activities, academic programs, departments, and history; promotional materials, invitations, and programs for events related to the law school; correspondence, minutes, and other material pertaining to the Penn Law School chapter of the Order of the Coif, an honorary legal society; and notes, correspondence, building plans, publications, and other material related to law school construction and renovations projects from the 1950s to the 1990s.

    Missing Title
  1. Law School Admissions Tickets
  2. Publications
  3. Events and Programs
  4. Order of the Coif
  5. Building Renovation and Construction Projects
  6. September 11 File
  7. Penn Law School Histories
  8. Other Materials

Prior to their transfer to the archives, these records were created by and located in a variety of departments in the Law School, including Development and Alumni Relations, Communications, the Dean's Office, and student groups.

Records were transferred and collected by the Library and Archives at various points during the history of the Library.

A container list that describes the collection at item level and folder level is available offline in spreadsheet form.

Processed by Jeremiah Eagen, September-November 2010.

For the archives' photographic holdings, please consulting the Law School Photographs Collection, BLL.003.

People
Organization
Subject
Occupation

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library
Finding Aid Author
Jeremiah Eagen, with additional processing by Hoang Tran
Finding Aid Date
2010
Access Restrictions

The archives reserves the right to restrict access to materials of sensitive nature. Please contact the department for further information.

Use Restrictions

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Collection Inventory

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, minutes, membership certificates, a member roster, and other material related to the University of Pennsylvania Law School's Chapter of the Order of the Coif, an honorary legal society for members of the legal community who graduated in the top ten percent of their law school class.

Correspondence, Invoices, and Notes, 1953-1963.
Box 1 Folder 1-5
Minutes, 1913-1959.
Box 2 Folder 1-4
Membership Certificates, 1973.
Box 2 Folder 5
"Members of the University of Pennsylvania Chapter of the Order of the Coif", 1932.
Box 2 Folder 6

Scope and Contents

Notes, correspondence, meeting minutes, memoranda, floor plans, architectural plans, events programs, publications, and other material related to Law School construction and renovation projects in the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s, and 1990s.

1950s Projects, 1950s.
Box 2 Folder 7
Scope and Contents

Notes, meeting minutes, correspondence, memoranda, floor plans, and other material related to a proposed addition to Biddle Law Library in the late 1950s.

1960s Projects, 1960-1969.
Box 3 Folder 1-10 Box 2 Folder 8
Scope and Contents

Notes, correspondence, memoranda, floor plans, product catalogs, event programs, publications, and other material related to the Biddle Law Library construction and other renovation projects in the 1960s.

1980s Projects, 1983-1989.
Box 3 Folder 11-12 Oversize 2
Scope and Contents

Correspondence, memoranda, and development plans related to Law School construction projects, including the Biddle Law Library renovation, in the 1980s.

This subseries also includes a computer drawing of Lewis Hall, given to the Law School in 1989. More information about its provenance is included in the folder.

1990s Projects, 1990s.
Box 3 Folder 13-15
Scope and Contents

Memoranda, architectural plans, event materials and programs, publications, and other material related to Law School construction and the dedication of Tanenbaum Hall in the 1990s.

Lewis Hall Dedication and Rededication, 1900 and 1996.
Box 3 Folder 16
Scope and Contents

Proceedings and programs from the dedication of Lewis Hall in 1900 and its rededication in 1996.

Golkin Hall Materials, 2012.
Box 3 Folder 17
Michael A. Fitts Groundbreaking Ceremony shovel, 2010 July 22.
Object 1
September 11 File, 2001.
Box 4 Folder 1
Scope and Contents

Articles, clippings, commentary, website print-outs, and related material collected in relation to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the event's relationship to Penn Law School.

Scope and Contents

Published and unpublished articles, manuscripts and honors theses about the history of Penn Law School.

The Archives also maintains a copy of an unpublished manuscript about the history of the Law School. Please contact the Archives for more information.

"Preliminary Report to Vice-Dean Beck on the History of the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania" by Mark F. Lloyd, 1978 June 28.
Box 12 Folder 2
"Interim Report to Vice-Dean Beck and Professor Arnold on the History of the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania" by Mark F. Lloyd, 1978 Aug 31.
Box 12 Folder 3
"Nineteenth-century Legal Education in Philadelphia: Essays Exploring the Founding and Development of the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania" by Jonathan Stuart Bennett, 1990 April.
Box 12 Folder 4
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a senior honors thesis.

"William Draper Lewis and the Development of a Modern Law School at the University of Pennsylvania" by Adam Jonathan Heft, 1993 April 2.
Box 4 Folder 2
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a senior honors thesis.

Law School Admissions Tickets, 1873, 1875.
Box 4 Folder 3

Constitution of the William Draper Lewis Law Club of the University of Pennsylvania, 1946.
Oversize 1
Committee on Student/Faculty Relations Student Questionnaire and Results, 1981 October 20.
Box 4 Folder 5
Penn Law Review Announcement of New Associate Editors, 1981 October 1.
Box 4 Folder 6
Holiday Card, circa 2000.
Box 4 Folder 7
Michael A. Fitts Groundbreaking Ceremony shovel, 2010 July 22.
Object Shovel 1

Scope and Contents

Programs, invitations, correspondence, promotional material, and other material for programs and events related to the University of Pennsylvania Law School, including commencement, alumni functions, lecture series, conferences, musical productions, banquets, and other social events.

Graduation List Card 1903, 1903.
Box 5 Folder 1
Record of the Graduating Memebers Class of 1902 and 1903, 1902-1903.
Box 5 Folder 2
Commencement Programs 1908 and 1911, 1908-1911.
Box 5 Folder 3
Commencement Programs 1969-1996, 1969-1996.
Box 5 Folder 4
Commencement Programs 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2010, 2016, 1997-2016.
Box 5 Folder 5
Alumni Society, 1904-2001.
Box 5 Folder 6-9
James Wilson Law Club Alumni Banquet Programs, 1941-1970.
Box 5 Folder 10
Scope and Contents

Alumni Banquet programs for the James Wilson Law Club, an organization founded at the University of Pennsylvania Law School to honor James Wilson, a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence, original member of the United States Supreme Court, and legal scholar.

Scope and Contents

Invitations, programs, correspondence, and other material related to the Owen J. Roberts Memorial Lecture Series, an annual scholarly lecture held in honor of the late Owen J. Roberts, a former dean of the Law School and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Includes correspondence from Elie Roberts, Justice Roberts' widow; Felix Frankfurter, former Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; Arthur Lehman Goodhart, a noted British legal scholar; and Paul Henri Spaak, former Prime Minister of Belgium and Secretary General of NATO.

Owen J. Roberts Lecture Invitations and Programs 1978-1982, 1993, 1996, 2003. , 1978-2003.
Box 5 Folder 11
Owen J. Roberts Lecture Correspondence (Felix Frankfuter and Authur Goodhart) 1957-1958, 1957-1958.
Box 5 Folder 12
Owen J. Roberts Lecture Correspondence 1958, 1958.
Box 5 Folder 13
Celebrating Fifty Years of the Owen J. Roberts Memorial Lecture, 2012.
Box 5 Folder 14
Student Musical Programs, 1973-1983.
Box 6 Folder 1
Scope and Contents

Programs for musical concerts and productions staged by Law School student music groups, including the Law School Light Opera Company, a choristers group, and several instrumental ensembles.

Other Event and Program Materials, 1952-2000s.
Box 6 Folder 2-11
Scope and Contents

Programs, fliers, invitations, and other material for symposiums, lectures, conferences, moot court events, and social events related to the Law School.

Theodore Milton Selden Plaque Dedication, 2015 October 23.
Box 6 Folder 14
Gary Clinton, Dean of Students, Retirement and Farewell, 2015 November 12.
Box 6 Folder 15

Scope and Contents

Publications related to the University of Pennsylvania Law School, including alumni journals, reports of the dean, faculty handbooks and guides, students handbooks and facebooks, law school bulletins, student publications, registration booklets, alumni giving reports, and publications related to the Law School's history, its departments, programs, and institutes, as well as other material.

Law Alumni News, 1956-1962.
Box 6 Folder 12
Scope and Contents

Subseries is missing Vol. 2, no. 2 (1957); Vol. 3, no. 2 (1957); Vol. 3, no. 3 (1959); Vol. 4, no. 1 (1959); Vol 4, no. 3 (1960); Vol. 5, no. 3 (1961); Vol. 6 (1961?-1962?); Vol. 7, no. 2 (1963?); Vol. 7, no. 3 (1963?); Vol. 8 (1963?-1964?); Vol. 9 (1964?-1965?).

This publication was discontinued after Volume 9. A new publication, the Law Alumni Journal, took its place as the Law School's alumni newsletter.

Law Alumni Journal, 1966.
Box 7 Folder 1-6 Box 6 Folder 13-14
Scope and Contents

Subseries is missing Vol. 1, no. 1 (1965?); Vol. 3, no. 3 (1968);Vol. 5, no. 5 (1970); Vol. 6, no. 3 (1971); Vol. 7, no. 1(1971); Vol. 9, no. 1 (1973); Vol. 9, no. 3 (1974); Vol. 10, no. 3 (1975); Vol. 11, No. 2 (1976?); Vol. 11, no. 3(1976?); Vol. 12 (1976-1977?); Vol. 13 (1977-1978?); Vol. 16, no. 2 (1981?); Vol. 16, no. 3 (1981); Vol. 17, no. 1 (1981); Vol. 19 (1983?-1984?); Vol. 21, no. 1 and no.2 (1985?-1986?); Vol. 22 (1986?-1987?); Vol. 23 (1987?-1988?); Vol. 24, no. 1 (1988?); Vol. 24, no. 2 (1989?); Vol. 25 (1989?-1990).

The name of this title was changed from the Law Alumni Journal to the Penn Law Journal beginning with Vol. 26, no. 1, the January 1991 issue.

Penn Law Journal, 1996-2003.
Box 8 Folder 1-3
Scope and Contents

The title of this publication was changed from the Law Alumni Journal to the Penn Law Journal beginning with Volume 26.

Subseries is missing Vol. 26 (1991); Vol. 27 (1992); Vol. 28 (1993); Vol. 29 (1994); Vol. 30 (1995?); Vol. 31, no. 1 (1995); Vol. 32 (1996?-1997?); Vol. 33 (1998); Vol. 39 (2004); Vol. 40. (2005); Vol. 41 (2006); Vol. 42 (2007); Vol. 43 (2008); Vol. 44 (2009).

Note that both issues of Volume 37 appear to have been mislabeled on their covers as Volume 35.

Report of the Dean, 1952-1977.
Box 9 Folder 1 Box 8 Folder 4-7
Faculty Handbook, 1974-1991.
Box 9 Folder 2
Faculty Guide, 2002, 2003, unknown.
Box 9 Folder 3
Student Handbooks, 1952-2002.
Box 9 Folder 4-9
Address and Telephone Directory, 1991-1998.
Box 10 Folder 1-3
Scope and Contents

Subseries is missing 1992-1993, 1993-1994, 1994-1995, 1995-1996.

New York Alumni Association Directory 1965-1966, 1965-1966.
Box 10 Folder 16
Alumni Annual Giving Report, 1967-1992.
Box 10 Folder 17-18
Other Publications, 1890-+2008.
Box 11 Folder 1-25
Scope and Contents

Includes publications related to the Law School's history, departments, and programs, as well as an alumni directory, student publications, University publications related to the Law School, annual reports for Law School's Institute for Law and Economics, and a pamphlet written by a former dean of the Law School. Also includes a published volume from 1967 entitled "Opportunities for Negros in the Law" and a 1957 ABA Directory of Teachers.

Law School Bulletins, 1912-2000.
Box 12 Folder 1-26 Box 13 Folder 1-14
Scope and Contents

Booklets containing information about the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Include academic calendars, information regarding staff, the law school and its programs, admissions, financial obligations and assistance, curriculum requirements, course descriptions, student life, student and alumni organizations and programs, a list of contact information, and other material.

Subseries includes issues for 1912-1913, 1913-1914, 1914-1915, 1915-1916, 1922-1923, 1923-1924, 1928-1929, 1929-1930, 1930-1931, 1931-1932, 1932-1933, 1933-1934, 1934-1935, 1937-1938, 1941-1942, 1942-1943, 1943-1944,1944-1945, 1945-1946, 1946-1947, 1948-1949, 1949-1950, 1950-1951, 1951-1952, 1952-1953, 1959-1960, 1960-1961, 1961-1963, 1963-1965, 1965-1967, 1967-1969, 1983-1984, 1984-1986, 1987-1989, 1990-1992 to 1990-92.

Subseries is missing 1916-1917, 1917-1918, 1918-1919, 1919-1920, 1920-1921, 1921-1922, 1924-1925, 1925-1926, 1926-1927, 1927-1928, 1935-1936, 1936-1937, 1938-1939, 1939-1940, 1940-1941, 1947-1948, 1951-1952, 1969-1971, 1971-1973, 1973-1975, 1975-1976.

Viewbook and Application Material, 1995-2000.
Box 15 Folder 1-5
Penn Law Catalog, 2011-2012.
Box 15 Folder 6-7
Student Facebooks, 1963-2010.
Box 17 Folder 1-15 Box 16 Folder 1-28
Registration Booklet, 1986-2005.
Box 18 Folder 1-8
Scope and Contents

Subseries is missing 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004.

The Penn Law Forum, 1973 - 2002.
Box 20 Folder 1-49 Box 19 Folder 1-30 Box 21 Folder 1-50
Scope and Contents

Subseries is missing Law Forums from 1979-1981; Vol. XV No. 4 1997

Biddle Brief. Staff Newsletter.
Bin 1

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