What We Do
The Yale Federalist Society puts on various events throughout the year, centered around twin goals: intellectual engagement and meaningful community.
About the Yale Federalist Society
The Federalist Society is founded on three core principles:
- The state exists to preserve freedom.
- The separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution.
- It is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be.
Beyond those three principles, the Federalist Society takes no policy positions. We focus on fostering debate and discussion of important legal topics. FedSoc is a big tent; we do not seek to speak for our members, and neither do our speakers.
The Society consists of a Student Division, to which the Yale Law School chapter belongs, as well as a Lawyers Division and a Faculty Division. For more information about the national organization, visit the Federalist Society website.
The Federalist Society planted its flag at Yale Law School in 1982, founding the flagship chapter here. Since then, the chapter has varied in size and vitality, but recent years we have seen an explosion of student interest, making FedSoc one of the most vibrant and active student organizations at YLS and earning the national organization's Chapter of the Year award in 2018. We endeavor to provide conservative and libertarian perspectives that balance the law school's left-leaning curriculum and enrich its intellectual atmosphere, as well as a community for students who want to engage with those perspectives.
Please be sure to check out our testimonial, "Yale Federalist Society: Lawyering Up Right," on the Yale Law School website.