August 11, 2023
Mike Fox

The past 200 years of legal education at UVA Law have bred a number of annual traditions and rites of passage, including some that foster collegiality, intellectual growth and a spirit of service, and others that just make the Law School “UVA Law.” Here’s a sampling of some of the events that will mark the next three years of student life.

Orientation and Meeting Your 1L Section

For many UVA Law students, classmates in their 1L section — a group of about 30 to 32 students who take most of their first-year classes together, sometimes combined with other sections — become lifelong friends. Students meet their sections for the first time at orientation. The orientation activities also include a day of service, this year on Aug. 20, organized by the Public Interest Law Association, which allows incoming students to bond over service projects.

Lile Moot Court Competition

The annual William Minor Lile Moot Court Competition, which debuted in 1928, now ends in a fall finale with two teams of third-year law students making an appellate moot argument before prominent judges. The competition starts with about 80 second-year students competing in two-person teams through quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. The winning teammates receive a cash prize and their names inscribed on a plaque outside the three moot courtrooms in Slaughter Hall. Those plaques feature some familiar and illustrious names, including former U.S. Sens. Ted Kennedy ’59 and Jon Tunney ’59. Moot court judges have included Supreme Court Justices William Brennan, Warren Burger, Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O’Connor and William Rehnquist.

Peter W. Morgan ’78 argues before Frank M. Coffin, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit; Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court justice; and John D. Butzner Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, during the 50th anniversary of the William Minor Lile Moot Court competition, in 1978.
Frank M. Coffin, chief judge of the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; and John D. Butzner Jr. of the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals were judges at the 50th anniversary of the William Minor Lile competition in 1978. UVA Law Archives

The Pro Bono Challenge

Over the course of their three years at UVA, many students participate in the school’s Pro Bono Challenge, which encourages and recognizes students who complete 75 hours or more of pro bono service before they graduate (25 hours for LL.M. students). Students who have logged at least 75 hours are honored at commencement and receive a certificate of recognition signed by the dean. In 2023, 82 graduates completed the challenge. In addition, the graduate who best demonstrates an “extraordinary commitment to pro bono service” is honored with the annual Pro Bono Award.

First-Year Council Halloween Carnival

Families of students, faculty and staff gather in Spies Garden to celebrate the fall season with games, treats and some not-so-scary costumes.

Families in the UVA Law community enjoyed the First-Year Council’s annual Halloween Carnival.

PILA Auction

The Public Interest Law Association’s primary fundraising event is the PILA Auction, held each fall semester to support students working in non- or low-paying public interest jobs over the summer. The live auction features big-ticket items like stays at vacation homes and fan favorites such as an ice cream social with the dean donated by professors. The silent auction is a social event featuring a dance held at a local venue, similar to the Barrister’s Ball, a wintertime formal dance hosted by the Student Bar Association.

A Cheesy Exam Season

During finals, the staff of the Arthur J. Morris Law Library harness their considerable organizational and culinary skills to produce grilled cheese sandwiches for hungry students in need of a study break. With sliced tomato or plain? You decide.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Midway Toast

To mark the midway point of Law School, the dean toasts second-years in January and the Office of Student Affairs provides a bountiful spread of hors d’oeuvres.

Academic Journals — and Tryouts

In February and March, first-years try out for the school’s 10 academic journals. While each journal may focus on a different niche, all applicants must go through the same unified tryout process: Bluebook editing exercises and an eight-page legal essay. Some journals hold a tryout in the fall for LL.M. and transfer students.

Alternative Spring Break

The student-led Public Interest Law Association, which each year organizes a service-focused “Alternative Spring Break,” matches volunteers with organizations that can use temporary student legal assistance.

The Libel Show

Dating back to 1908 as a performance on the steps of the Rotunda, the student-run annual Libel Show lampoons faculty, the administration and law school culture through a musical comedy format. The 1958 yearbook called the show “mirthful, musical and terpsichorean” and “good enough for Broadway (even if not good enough for Wall Street.).” Dozens of students participate in the production each year.

North Grounds Softball League and Invitational

Softball has been a popular pastime for law students since the school moved to North Grounds in the mid-1970s. NGSL organizes fall and spring intramural seasons but also hosts an annual invitational, which marked its 40th anniversary in the spring. The event attracts teams from dozens of law schools nationwide to raise funds for ReadyKids and UVA Law’s Public Interest Law Association. Other athletic traditions include the Barristers United soccer club and the student-faculty basketball game (which also benefits PILA).

First-Year Oral Arguments

For several days in the late spring each year, about 300 first-year students argue an appellate case before a panel of judges, typically two alumni or local attorneys and a second or third-year student serving as a Legal Writing Fellow. The 1Ls also prepare and submit a brief in advance of their argument date.

Jefferson Medal in Law

Sponsored jointly by the University and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the nonprofit organization that owns and operates Monticello, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals are awarded each year to recognize the achievements of those who embrace endeavors in which Jefferson excelled and held in high regard. The law medal, and its counterparts in architecture, citizen leadership and global innovation, are UVA’s highest external honors. Recipients have included Supreme Court justices, Cabinet secretaries and U.S. senators. The medalist in law gives a lecture at the Law School.

Charge to the Class

On the eve of graduation, students hear parting words of advice from a treasured faculty member or administrator. The speeches offer a trove of wisdom from different perspectives for budding lawyers.

OGIs

Though the schedule for on-Grounds interview season has expanded since the COVID-19 pandemic and first-round interviews have mostly moved online, most law students still have an intense interview season near the end of their first-year summer for jobs that may lead to their postgraduate employment.

And a few more traditions:

  • Each year, a team of students in the Human Rights Study Project travels abroad to research human rights issues in a specific country and report their findings. The Black Law Students Association also takes an annual winter or spring break service trip abroad.
  • The Community Fellows Program fosters collegiality and a sense of belonging through selecting first-year students to serve as ambassadors to their peers in law school, and later in the professional world.
  • Students in the International Tax Practicum compete in the International and European Tax Moot Court Competition. UVA’s 2018 team was the first U.S. law school to win the competition — and it was just the second time UVA had fielded a team.
  • The largest event of its kind in the world, the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition simulates a dispute before the International Court of Justice and participating students gain expertise in both public and private international law.
  • As part of UVA’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemoration, the dean awards the Gregory H. Swanson Award to a student or students who demonstrate standards of character and conduct exemplified by Swanson, who was UVA and the Law School’s first Black student.
  • Students create their own traditions outside the school, including attending the Carter Mountain sunset series, the Foxfield horse races and more.

Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the nation. Consistently ranked among the top law schools, Virginia is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants, instilling in them a commitment to leadership, integrity and community service.

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