ACADEMIC HONORS
JD Awards in Individual Courses
Certificates signed by the Dean are awarded to the student(s) who receives the highest grade in each individual course. Duplicate awards may be made for the highest grades in sections of an individual course.
JD Dean’s List
A full-time candidate for the JD degree who has attained a semester average of 3.45 or above on at least ten (10) hours of law school course work shall be placed upon the Dean’s List for that semester.
Joint-degree candidates who are jointly registered in the law school and another division of Emory University must have a minimum of five graded law school credit hours to be eligible for the Dean’s List (assuming that they are carrying a course load of 10 or more credits overall that semester).
JD First Honor Graduate
The First Honor Graduate is the three-year JD student in the graduating class with the highest overall academic grade point average computed on all three years of graded law schoolwork done at Emory (summer school attendance excluded). That student serves as student marshal at commencement.
In the event that two or more students in the graduating class have averages too close to be certain of their exact rank after the final semester, the student with the highest average after five semesters may be named as Student Marshal, but the First Honor Graduate award may not be made until all grades are received for the sixth semester and final ranks are established.
Transfer students, students who are or have been transient at another ABA school, and students who have not completed the JD requirements in six consecutive semesters are not eligible to be named the First Honor Graduate.
JD Graduation with Distinction
All JD students graduating with cumulative averages of 3.80 or above graduate with high honors. All JD students graduating with a 3.45 or above graduate with honors. Transfer students can graduate with high honors or honors if their averages on work at Emory meet the above requirements. Emory students, transient elsewhere, are eligible for graduation with high honors or honors if their cumulative grade point average for work done at Emory meets the above requirements and their average grade for work done while on transient status was at least a “B” or an equivalent numerical grade.
JD Order of the Coif
Election to the Order of the Coif is reserved for JD students who have graduated in the top 10% of their class and who are elected to the Order by the Emory chapter, which consists exclusively of full-time Emory Law faculty members.
Students are eligible for election only if they have completed 75% of their coursework for the Doctor of Law degree in graded courses. “Graded coursework” includes courses taken for a grade at Emory or taken for a grade at another ABA-accredited law school and reported as a sat (S) on the Emory transcript, for which the credit was used to satisfy the Emory Doctor of Law degree requirements. It does not include courses taken sat/unsat at Emory or elsewhere, and it does not include courses taken at non-ABA-accredited law schools. This requirement is waived for the JD class of 2022.
Students who come to Emory as transfer students, or who visit elsewhere as Emory students, are subject to the same eligibility rules as Emory students who begin their law school careers at Emory.
Order of the Coif is an honor society, and each new member must be truly worthy of the honor. For that reason, it is within the discretion of the chapter to refuse membership to a student in the top 10% of the graduating class whom the chapter determines is unfit for membership, based on the chapter’s assessment of his or her character and behavior while at Emory. The determination of unfitness may include, but is not limited to, consideration of whether there were Professional Conduct Court proceedings brought by faculty, students, or staff against the student resulting in a finding of responsibility or admission of guilt (adjudicated or negotiated resolution), or whether a summary sanction was issued against the student for a Conduct Code issue.
JM/MLS Leadership Award
Each year, the JM/MLS program selects a JM/MLS Leadership Award recipient based on academic merit and contribution to the Emory Law community.
LLM Leadership Award
Each year, the LLM program selects an LLM Leadership Award recipient based on academic merit and contribution to the Emory Law community.
Law School Awards
Each year, a number of awards are made to outstanding students for their academic achievement, Moot Court achievement, and/or contribution to the law school community. Some of these awards are made on the basis of grades earned in individual courses or areas of concentration; others are service awards.
Nominations are usually made by an ad hoc committee of the faculty and then submitted to the faculty as a whole for ratification. Faculty members teaching in the area of the awards are consulted before nominations are made. The Associate Dean of Students and Academic Programs or their designee convenes the faculty committee that selects award candidates.
Law student organizations may be recognized for their contributions to the community at an annual award ceremony sponsored by the Student Bar Association in coordination with the Division of Campus Life.
University Awards
Students are named annually to “Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities” by the Dean’s office in coordination with the faculty. Recipients are honored at a special ceremony sponsored by the Division of Campus Life.
Individual law students may be nominated to receive the Brittain Award. This award is given to the one graduating student in all the divisions of the University who has made the most outstanding contribution to the University community. Selection is by a committee composed of representatives from all the divisions of the University. The recipient is honored at the main University graduation ceremony.