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School of Law Archives

• About the Archives
• Major Collections
• University Archives at the School of Law
• History of the School of Law

About Archives

The Archives houses the records of the University of Connecticut School of Law that document over eighty years of history. These records include the papers of the various administrative offices on campus, and papers reflecting the academic work and social activities of the students at the Law School. Varied forms of information such as faculty minutes and evaluations, handbooks, course catalogs, annual reports, activities of student organizations and office memoranda all serve to document the Law School's past.

For information about gaining access to these records, please contact Lea Wallenius, (860) 570-5031.

The Law School is seeking written recollections, photographs and other memorabilia as part of an effort to write a comprehensive history of the School. The following is a list of the materials that would be helpful:

• University records: Memorabilia associated with the Law School or materials of historical value from 1922 to present
• Student organizations: Events, minutes and correspondence that document any organization or group
• Newspapers: Student newspapers before 1962
• Class publications: Commencement programs and speeches before 1985, reunion programs
• Papers: Personal papers of faculty members to document their teaching and scholarship
• Photographs: Student life, activities and different locations of the Law School at 94 Allyn St., Main and Pearl St., 51 Chapel St., 44 Niles St., and 39 Woodland St.

Please send your recollections, materials, and photographs to

Darcy Kirk, Director of Law Library
University of Connecticut School of Law
39 Elizabeth Street
Hartford, CT 06105-2213

The School of Law Archives may accept materials and financial gifts. Donations can be discussed by contacting the Development Office at (860) 570-5428, or 45 Elizabeth Street, Hartford, CT 6105-2213.

Major Collections

Litchfield Law School Notebooks 1790-1833: 9 linear feet in 29 containers

After graduating from Harvard Law School's LL.M. program and while serving as a Visiting Scholar and American Bar Foundation Fellow in Legal History at the Yale Law School, Charles C. Goetsch '76 began identifying and collecting the most important Litchfield Law School Notebooks. The Litchfield Law School was the first law school in America and was founded by Judge Tapping Reeve in 1784. Charles C. Goetsch traveled to university libraries and historical societies where he obtained copies of the most representative notebooks from the Early Period (1790-1798) when Tapping Reeve alone lectured, the Middle Period (1798-1820) when Reeve and James Gould lectured, and the Late Period (1820-1833) when Gould alone lectured. The following notebooks are held: Eliphalet Dyer (1790-93), Asa Bacon Jr. (1794), Seth P. Staples (1798), Daniel Sheldon Jr. (1798), Aaron Burr Reeve (1802-07), Ely Warner (1808-09), Timothy Follet (1812-13), Origen Storrs Seymour (1824-25), and George Flagg Mann (1826-27).

Shirley R. Bysiewicz Papers: .25 linear feet in 2 containers

The Bysiewicz Papers reflect her time at the University of Connecticut School of Law from 1956 to 1989. Shirley Raissi Bysiewicz was the first woman tenured professor at the School of Law. From 1956-1983 she served as a law librarian and director of the law library. Concurrently she was professor of law and taught courses in woman and the law, juvenile law, elder law, legal research and writing, judicial clerkship clinic, and legislation. Bysiewicz was known as an advocate of children's rights, and authored “Juvenile Law Handbook.” She also wrote other legal books, among them “Dictionary of Legal Terms” and “Effective Legal Research.” Bysiewicz was involved in many organizations outside the law school. She was appointed to the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women, organized a committee on the status of women for the Connecticut Bar Association, and was a member of the Association of American Law School Committee on Women in Legal Education.

Joseph Steffan Collection: 45 linear feet in 111 containers

The Joseph Steffan papers span the years 1987 to 1994. The collection includes legal documents, Naval Academy papers, correspondence, media coverage, and a draft of his book “Honor Bound.” Steffan studied at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland (1983-1987), North Dakota State University (1987-1989), and the University of Connecticut School of Law (1991-1994), where he received a J.D.

On April 1, 1987 the Naval Academic Board recommended that Steffan be dismissed under Performance Manual Sec. 2.153e-Homosexuality. Steffan resigned from the Naval Academy six weeks short of his graduation date. In 1988, Steffan, with the help of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, wrote to the Secretary of the Navy to request that his letter of resignation be withdrawn and to be reinstated. There was no response to the request. On January 29, 1989, Joseph Steffan v. Richard Cheney, was filed in the Federal District courthouse in Washington D.C. in an effort to get Steffan reinstated. Judge Oliver Gasch was assigned the case. As the case gained national attention Marc Wolinsky, an attorney at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, became the representing lawyer on the case. In 1993, a three-judge panel ruled in favor of Steffan and ordered him reinstated. The Navy appealed the case and in 1994 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed the order in Joseph C. Steffan v. William J. Perry.

Wesley W. Horton Collection: Being processed

Papers donated by Wesley W. Horton comprise the correspondence, press, trial notes and court documents from the litigation surrounding Horton v. Meskill from 1973-1988. On November 21, 1973, Horton filed a suit in Connecticut Superior Court in an attempt to overturn Connecticut's system of fixed grants to town school systems. In December of 1974 Judge Rubino ruled Connecticut's use of property tax to finance education was unconstitutional. Governor Ella Grasso appealed Rubino's decision to the Connecticut State Supreme Court in 1975. After years of legal appeals and legislative stalling the General Assembly allocated additional funding to be phased in over a five-year period. Horton decided in 1979 not to challenge the new finance law.

In 1980 with little noted progress Horton decided to go back to court and reopen the 1973 case. When the case came to trial in 1984, Judge Arthur L. Spada issued an 83-page ruling ordering the State to spend more money on local public schools. This time Governor O'Neil appealed Judge Spada's decision. The Court affirmed that the Guaranteed Tax Base formula was constitutional and didn't order specific expenditures.

Law School Photographs

The photographs reflect the academic and student life at the Law School. The images are arranged in groupings of Law School faculty and staff, events, students, and campus buildings.

University Archives at the School of Law

These materials are arranged by office of origin, series title, and date span.

Hartford College of Law Board of Trustee Minutes	1925-1940
Hartford College of Law Faculty Minutes	1933-1943
Hartford College of Law Catalogs	1922-1943
Hartford College of Law Faculty Profile & Scholarship	1921-1942
Dean's Report/Annual Report/Letter from the Dean	1969-to present
Alumni Lists	1922-1984
Alumni News Bulletin	1944-1960
Student Handbook	1964, 1975-2000
Law School Catalogs	1944 to present
Law School Foundation Annual Report	1985-1990
Faculty Bibliographies	1989-2000
Faculty Minutes	1943 to present
Faculty Evaluations	1985 to present
Faculty Profile and Scholarship	1942-1962
Faculty Handbook	1977-1990, 1993-1994
Law Library Annual Report	1972-1993
Library Handbook	1975-1996
Prize Day Scholarships and Awards	1979 to present
Student Newspapers	1962-2000

History of the School of Law

1921	George William Lillard and his wife Caroline Eiermann Lillard founded the Hartford College of Law. When the doors opened on October 25, 1921, the College was unaccredited and the students would earn a certificate at the completion of their studies. The faculty consisted of James E. Rhodes, Allan K. Smith, John J. Burke, James W. Knox, and Roger Wolcott Davis. Night classes were held in rented rooms at the Hartford Wire Works located on 94 Allyn Street in Hartford.
1922	In February the College moved to the Hartford Life Insurance Company Building at the corner of Asylum and Ann Streets Building at the corner of Asylum and Ann Streets. The second year classes were held on the top floor of the Hartford-Connecticut Trust Company located on the corner of Main and Pearl Streets.
1924	First graduating class of six. J. Agnes Burns '24 was the first graduate admitted to the Connecticut Bar and would be the first woman to plead before the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors on March 4, 1925.
1925	In July the Connecticut General Assembly granted the College of Law a special charter under Special Act, 1925, Senate Bill No. 190-292 as a private educational institution.
1926	The College moved to the Graybar building at 51 Chapel St.
1930	For the next ten years the College leased the Kindergarten Building of the West Middle School at 44 Niles Street.
1931	On June 17th, the officers of the College of Law Corporation appointed Farwell Knapp as Dean. He was an instructor for eighteen years and President of the Board of Trustees from 1938-1942.
1933	The Lillards conveyed all their financial interest in the corporation to a Board of Trustees. On September 18th, the College was approved by the American Bar Association and accredited by the Examining Committee of the Connecticut Bar Association.
1933-35	On September 25th, the Board of Trustees appointed Thomas A. Larremore as the first full-time Dean of the College of Law. Deans that followed were: Edward Graham Biard (1934-42), Laurence J. Ackerman, Acting Dean (1942-46), Dr. Bert Earl Hopkins (1946-66), Cornelius J. Scanlon, Acting Dean (1967), Howard R. Sacks (1967-72), Francis C. Cady, Acting Dean (1972-74), Phillip I. Blumberg (1974-1984), George Schatzki (1984-1990), Hugh C. MacGill (1990-2000), and Nell Jessup Newton (2000- ).
1934	The Charter was amended so the College of Law could be organized as a non-profit educational corporation. William F. Starr was appointed a full time instructor. Professor Starr retired in 1962 and became the first Professor Emeritus of Law at the University of Connecticut.
1935	The Day Division Program was established.
1937	In December of this year the College received accreditation from the Association of American Law Schools.
1938	Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition was established to award $250 to the student who wrote the best paper on some aspect of copyright law. The Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Scholarship (1952), the William F. Starr Fellowship (1962), and other scholarships followed and set a precedent for future prizes and awards.
1939	The Department of Insurance, which had been established in 1936, was incorporated by the Connecticut General Assembly and became the Hartford College of Insurance.
1940-42	Caroline Eiermann Lillard, one of the founders of the College, was appointed as the first law librarian.
1940	The College for the first time was able to purchase property at 39 Woodland Street and would remain there for the next twenty-four years. This was the home of Professor M. W. Jacobus, who had been Dean of the Hartford Theological Seminary. Founder George Lillard died.
1942	In August, the Trustees of the Hartford College of Law and Insurance decided that their future growth should be tied to the state university after a decline in the day division enrollment due to WWII.
1943	On June 1st the Connecticut General Assembly authorized a five-year lease of the College of Law and Insurance to the University of Connecticut. On September 1, 1948, the Board of Trustees gave the deed conveying full title to President Jorgensen of the University of Connecticut.
1944	Day school classes were suspended in February due to World War II. Day school classes would resume on February 4, 1946. Evening classes continued during this period.
1947	The Board of Student Editors started to contribute to the Connecticut Bar Journal published by the State Bar Association. In 1959 the Board of Student Editors became the Connecticut Law Review and continued to prepare a section of the Connecticut Bar Journal. Dean Howard Sacks announced, in 1968, that the Connecticut Law Review would become an independent publication. Subsequently the Connecticut Journal of International Law (1985), Connecticut Insurance Law Journal (1995), and the Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal (2000) began publication.
1956	Shirley Raissi Bysiewicz joins the Law School and becomes the first female tenured professor.
1960	The Student Bar Association (SBA) is founded. It was established to administer the Honor Code, sponsor the school's participation in the National Moot Court Competition, plan social and informal educational activities, and participate in regional and national conferences of the American Law Student Association. Some of the later student organizations that were established on campus were: Adlai E. Stevenson Society of International Law Chapter (1966), Legal History Society (1968), Black American Law Student Association Chapter (1969), Law Women's Association (1972), Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity (1972), Environmental Law Society (1976), National Lawyer's Guild (1976), Gay Law Student Association (1980), Health and Social Services Law Association (1981), and the Hellenic Association (1992).
1961	The Starr Report, a student newspaper edited by the SBA and the Alumni Association, was published periodically during the academic year. Other student newspapers followed: Legal Realist (1968-74), Pocket Part (1974-1984), News (1985-1988), University of Connecticut Law School News (1984), J.D. (1989), Public Forum (1995-1998), University of Connecticut School of Law Newsletter (2000), and Dicta (2000).
1961	The first formal meeting of the Law Wives was held. They would be instrumental in raising money for scholarships and a book fund for the library.
1964	On May 1st, Law Day, the new building on Trout Brook Drive in West Hartford was dedicated. Dean Hopkins accepted the building that had physical facilities designed for the purpose of a law school for the first time in its history.
1964	The Student Board of Public Defenders and Legal Assistants was formed to aid indigent defendants and assist the Hartford Defenders Office.
1965	A National Moot Court Competition was established on campus and in 1966 the law school began to participate in the Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Competition.
1965	The Alumni Association starts to sponsor an annual conference on the Survey of Connecticut Law. Other annual conferences would follow: Insurance Institute (1977), Gallivan Conference (1991), Connecticut Law Review Symposium, Connecticut Journal of International Law Symposium, and Insurance Law Conference.
1969	The legal clinics began as a 14-credit course for third year students in criminal law. Additional clinics were initiated later: Judicial Clerkship (1975), Legal (1975), Mental Health Law (1976), Civil Rights (1979), Labor Relations (1981), Legislative, Administrative Law, Mediation (1994), Tax (1999), Asylum & Human Rights (2002), and Civil Appellate Litigation (2002).
1972	Constance Belton Green ‘72 is the first African-American woman to graduate from the law school. Bessye Bennett ‘73 was the first African-American woman admitted to the Bar in the State of Connecticut.
1974	The Law School Foundation was formed to administer funds raised by alumni campaigns. By 1976 the Foundation would start to sponsor the Distinguished Visitors Program and sponsor the School of Law Press. Professor Leonard Orland's Connecticut Criminal Procedure was the first title published. A press release stated that the School of Law Press was believed to be the first law school press in the nation.
1976	The law school starts the road to automation with its first Lexis computer terminal and in 1981 would acquire a word processing system with three terminals.
1977	School of Law established four joint degree programs to combine legal education with graduate professional training in the related fields of social work, business administration, public policy, and librarianship. In following years insurance law and public health would be added to the dual degree program.
1978	On June 1st, Governor Ella Grasso authorized $6 million for the purchase and renovation of the 27.5-acre campus of the Hartford Seminary. The campus included six gothic buildings, designed by Charles Coffen and built during 1922-1926. The move to this campus would not take place until 1984 under Dean Phillip I. Blumberg.
1982	Law faculty collaborated with the Law Faculty at the University of Exeter, England in arranging faculty and student exchanges. In the ensuing years additional opportunities would be available in Aix-en-Provence, Berlin, Dublin, Exeter, Leiden, London, Mannheim, San Juan, Siena and Tilburg.
1985	The International Legal Program is established to encompass research, conferences, student faculty/exchanges, and a graduate program for foreign attorneys. In the following years the Insurance Law Center (1995) and the Intellectual Property Program (2001) would be created at the law school.
1992	The first Public Law Interest Group Auction is held. The President's office approved a separate Commencement ceremony at the School of Law. Previously the ceremony had been held on the main campus with a Convocation ceremony at the Law School.
1996	The Law School had its 75th anniversary and dedicated the new Law Library building with speaker Justice Stephen Breyer. Supreme Court Justices John Marshall Harlan, Arthur J. Goldberg, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg have also visited the campus in other years.
1997	Law students have been able to work for the legal rights of poor children and strengthen urban neighborhoods by working with two public interest law firms that are housed on the campus. The Center for Children's Advocacy and the Connecticut Urban Legal Initiatives are non-profit organizations that provide legal services to non-profit groups.
2004	Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg visits the campus.