Phi Alpha Delta

Message from the International Justice By Ronald J. Winter (International Justice, Alden Chapter) For as long as I can remember, I have heard Phi Alpha Delta referred to as a "Fraternity of Firsts". It was, you will recall, an innovator in many ways: the first law fraternity to remove the Caucasian-only clause; first to admit women, culminating in a merger with Phi Delta Delta, the largest women's law fraternity; first to expand beyond the borders of the continental United States with Chapters in Canada and Mexico; first to partner with the federal government in a program aimed at providing law-related education to K-12 students; and the first to include undergraduate students through its Pre-Law Program initiative. We have continued to be a leader in other ways. Phi Alpha Delta was the first law fraternity to permit on-line applications. Law student membership has surged in recent years partly because of that technological innovation. Technology has allowed us to be innovative in other ways, including digital "attendance" at recent district leadership conferences in Florida and Arizona. We intend to do an entire such conference in Indiana in the near future, saving cost and time in permitting attendees to remain in their location while we bring the conference - and its attendant leadership and other skills - to the participants. Our Pre-Law Program was witness to another "fraternity first" in late August: the first "virtual" Chapter was chartered at American Public University. Now a whole new population of potential law students can learn about law school, its application process and the practice of law via web-based technology. Webster's defines innovation as "the introduction of something new; a new idea, method or device". Hasn't P.A.D. been innovative for all of its nearly 111 years of existence? Haven't we trotted out new and exciting ways to do things during our entire history? Why stop now? P.A.D. is on the cutting edge of new technology in its website development that will provide educationdriven learning portals for our student and alumni members to access with the push of a button. Skillsets necessary to successfully traverse the legal landscape will be available for those seeking answers. Interviewing skills, time and stress management, courtroom techniques, debt avoidance and leadership dynamics are but a few of the topics being explored for delivery to our members. The future is now, the innovations are here. It is a great time to be a P.A.D. member. Have your friends and colleagues join us! We will soon unveil our newest technological advances. As we enter the second year of this biennium we do so as the world's foremost law fraternity, and our innovative approach will keep us steps ahead of the competition for decades to come. Fraternally, Ronald J. Winter, International Justice "We cannot solve our problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." —Albert Einstein 4 The Reporter Fall 2013 — This issue of The Reporter received a huge amount of submissions! Because of print limitations, a lot of great Chapter updates and articles are available in the extended online edition. Those articles marked with the gavel image indicate there is more to read online so please visit www.pad.org.

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