Order of the Coif, Class of 2009

Class of 2009

Membership in the Order of the Coif is the highest academic honor a law student can achieve.  It is equivalent to membership in Phi Beta Kappa for undergraduates and recognizes the scholastic achievements of law students selected from the upper ten percent of their class.  The following members of the class were inducted into Order of the Coif during the Class of 2009 Awards Ceremony on May 16.

Kenneth Walter Abrams

Holly Ann Brady

Emily Jane Dodds

Kaila Marie Gregory

Dana James Hall

Krista Pietrok Hanvey

Brandon Scott Harter

Jonathan David Hitsous

David Christopher Holman

Grant Hudson Kidner

Cynthia Grainger Lee

Jennifer Barker Lyday

Daniel Dominic Matthews

Meghaan Cecilia McElroy

John Joseph O'Kane

Elizabeth Anne Rider

Angela Jacqueline Tang

Mary Laurel Thibadeau

Michael Willems

Honorary Member - Ingrid Mickelsen Hillinger

Order of the Coif, Honorary Member

Coif chapters may elect to honorary membership "those who as lawyers,  judges and teachers have attained high distinction for their scholarly or professional accomplishments.  "The William & Mary chapter inducted Ingrid Michelsen Hillinger ' 76 as an honorary member of the Order of the Coif.

In her remarks Dean Butler noted that Professor Hillinger earned her bachelor's degree in philosophy from Barnard College before receiving her J.D. from Marshall-Wythe.  "A successful law student," the Dean said, she was the top of her class and received the highest marks in a number of courses, including Property, Commercial Law and Creditor's Rights."  She began her academic career at William & Mary and is now a law professor at Boston College, where she has been recognized with a University Distinguished Teaching Award.

Butler recalled that from the outset when they were both assistant professors at the Law School, Hillinger was a "natural" in the classroom, processing an "uncanny ability to reach the minds and hearts of students."  "Many faculty," said Butler, "win the hearts or minds of students.  Very few do both".

Recalling Hillinger's receipt of a state-wide award for Outstanding Teaching from the Virginia Council on Higher Education, Butler quoted Tim Sullivan, then dean of the Law School and one of her nominators, who wrote that her "pedagogical excellence is built upon a first-rate mind, a profound knowledge of her field and a genuine love for her students."  Butler noted that Hillinger was selected for this honor the same year that the Class of 1987 invited her to give the address at their graduation, "an extraordinary gesture of respect."  She concluded her remarks by summarizing Hillinger's remarkable achievements: "successful student, gifted teacher, accomplished scholar, caring student mentor."