Since its founding in 1984, OutLaw has provided a supportive environment for LGBTQ+ students at the Law School and has educated and fostered action around legal issues affecting members of the LGBTQ+ community. To these ends, OutLaw has, as examples, successfully negotiated for the inclusion of sexual orientation in the University's non-discrimination clause; organized the first national law school conference on sexual orientation and the law; hosted presentations on legal careers for lesbian, gay and bi-sexual people by the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders; sponsored a faculty member's lecture on the constitutionality of anti-gay discrimination by the government; and participated in the successful lobbying effort to have a domestic partnership program instituted at the University.

More recently, OutLaw has focused on the importance of intersectionality, partnering with other student organizations at the Law School to ensure the multiplicity of our members is recognized, respected, and celebrated. For example, OutLaw partners with the Black Law Students Association and the Law Women’s Caucus to co-host Black & Lavender week, dedicated to highlighting and celebrating the presence of Black women, femmes, and non-binary folx in the legal community.

As a means of creating and sustaining community, OutLaw member events have included dinners, brunches, and outings to Chicago's vibrant queer establishments with LGBTQ+ students studying at other law schools and professional schools in Chicago.

OutLaw has also assisted queer alumni and the Law School in establishing what it believes is the country's first law school scholarship for students who demonstrate commitment to the advancement of legal rights for gays and lesbians. Named in honor of the riot that precipitated the modern gay rights movement in 1969, the Stonewall Scholarship Fund is used to replace unnamed scholarship funds awarded by the Financial Aid Office.

Sponsors

OutLaw would like to thank our generous sponsors:

• Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
• Kirkland & Ellis LLP
• Latham & Watkins LLP
• Mayer Brown LLP
• McDermott Will & Emery
• Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
• Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
• White & Case LLP