Order of the Coif

The Order of the Coif is an honorary scholastic society the purpose of which is to encourage excellence in legal education by fostering a spirit of careful study, recognizing those who as law students attained a high grade of scholarship, and honoring those who as lawyers, judges and teachers attained high distinction for their scholarly or professional accomplishments. Students in the top 10% of their graduating class are eligible for membership consideration by the Washington & Lee chapter of Order of the Coif.

Beginning with the Class of 2028, students must complete at least 75% of their law studies in graded courses to be eligible for Order of the Coif membership.
To meet this requirement, students should be aware of the following:

• Excluded Courses: Credits from courses like Immersion, field placements, study abroad, and any course taken as Pass/No Pass will not be counted toward the 75% graded credit requirement.
• Example: For a student graduating with 85 total credits, at least 64 of those credits must be from graded courses.

Students aspiring to Coif membership should therefore be mindful of how many non-graded or Pass/No Pass courses they take.