The Federalist Society is a group of libertarians and conservatives interested in the current state of the legal order. The Society was founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be. Through its activities, the Society seeks to promote an awareness of these principles and to further their application.

The Federalist Society was formed in 1982 by law students at the University of Chicago, Yale and Harvard. Justice Antonin Scalia, then a professor at the Law School, helped organize the University of Chicago Law School chapter of the Federalist Society. Each year, we bring speakers to the Law School for lectures and debates in an effort to open and to balance the debate on legal issues. Whenever possible, the Society invites speakers on both sides of the issue in order to present a balanced discussion on the topic.