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Professor Neil Hamilton teaches an ethics class.

Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership

The Holloran Center's mission is to provide innovative interdisciplinary research, curriculum development, and programs focusing holistically on the formation of both law students and practicing professionals into ethical leaders in their communities.

The Center is at the forefront of a growing national movement focused on greater intentionality in the professional formation of law students. The Standard 303(b) and (c) accreditation changes approved by the ABA House of Delegates on February 14, 2022, are a major step forward for the national social movement.

Our goal is to help every law school take gradual and effective steps to foster each student's growth to develop a professional identity.

2026 marks the 20th Anniversary of the Holloran Center! We will host our first Annual Professional Identity Formation Conference and Awards Ceremony on April 25, 2026. Learn more about the event here!

Get to know the Holloran Center!

  • Get to Know the Holloran Center
  • 2026 First Annual Holloran Center Conference
  • Student Research and Service Positions
  • Rule of Law Initiative
  • Review Changes to Standard 303
  • Explore Our Tools and Resources
  • See Our Research and Training

    • Get to Know the Holloran Center

    Holloran Center faculty and fellows provide national leadership on empirical research to assess which pedagogies are most effective to help students with formation of an ethical professional identity.

    Since its founding in 2006, the Holloran Center has focused on the mission of helping the next generation of lawyers form professional identities grounded in a deep commitment of service to others.

    About the Holloran Center

    2026 First Annual Holloran Center Conference

    Join us on April 25th, 2026, to celebrate 20 years of the Holloran Center! As part of the celebration, the Holloran Center is hosting an Awards Ceremony to honor and promote teaching innovation and scholarship related to professional identify formation.

    Learn more about the Conference and Awards here: Holloran Center Conference and Awards Ceremony.

    Student Research and Service Positions

    The Holloran Center offers several student employment opportunities in research and service. Our program, which includes Tourek-Marvin Peer Mentors, Tourek-Marvin Scholars, Shea Scholars, and Gherty Scholars, is guided by the mission of fostering student leadership and encouraging continuous, lifelong professional growth.

    University of St. Thomas students are encouraged to apply or inquire more about available opportunities.

    Learn More And Apply

    Rule of Law Initiative

    The Rule of Law Working Group is a joint enterprise of the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions and the “Pluralizing” Legal Professional Identity: Democracy, Equity, Justice, and the Law School Curriculum.”

    Learn more about the Rule of Law Initiative and the Rule of Law Learning Outcome by clicking the link below.

    Rule of Law Initiative

    Review Changes to Standard 303

    The Standard 303(b) and (c) accreditation changes approved by the ABA House of Delegates on February 14, 2022, are a major step forward for the national social movement.

    About Standard 303

    Explore Our Tools and Resources

    See Our Research and Training

    The Holloran Center offers research and training in professional development formation.

    All Research and Training

    Get to Know the Holloran Center

    Holloran Center faculty and fellows provide national leadership on empirical research to assess which pedagogies are most effective to help students with formation of an ethical professional identity.

    Since its founding in 2006, the Holloran Center has focused on the mission of helping the next generation of lawyers form professional identities grounded in a deep commitment of service to others.

    About the Holloran Center

    2026 First Annual Holloran Center Conference

    Join us on April 25th, 2026, to celebrate 20 years of the Holloran Center! As part of the celebration, the Holloran Center is hosting an Awards Ceremony to honor and promote teaching innovation and scholarship related to professional identify formation.

    Learn more about the Conference and Awards here: Holloran Center Conference and Awards Ceremony.

    Student Research and Service Positions

    The Holloran Center offers several student employment opportunities in research and service. Our program, which includes Tourek-Marvin Peer Mentors, Tourek-Marvin Scholars, Shea Scholars, and Gherty Scholars, is guided by the mission of fostering student leadership and encouraging continuous, lifelong professional growth.

    University of St. Thomas students are encouraged to apply or inquire more about available opportunities.

    Learn More And Apply

    Rule of Law Initiative

    The Rule of Law Working Group is a joint enterprise of the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions and the “Pluralizing” Legal Professional Identity: Democracy, Equity, Justice, and the Law School Curriculum.”

    Learn more about the Rule of Law Initiative and the Rule of Law Learning Outcome by clicking the link below.

    Rule of Law Initiative

    Review Changes to Standard 303

    The Standard 303(b) and (c) accreditation changes approved by the ABA House of Delegates on February 14, 2022, are a major step forward for the national social movement.

    About Standard 303

    Explore Our Tools and Resources

    See Our Research and Training

    The Holloran Center offers research and training in professional development formation.

    All Research and Training

    Quick Reads about Standard 303

    Law Student Well-Being Updates

    L to R: Jerry Organ, David Grenardo, Steve Tourek, and Neil Hamilton

    Holloran Center Receives Major Gift to Support Professional Formation Among Law Students

    The Holloran Center is grateful to have received a major gift from Jake Marvin, former CEO of Marvin Companies, to establish the Steve Tourek and Jake Marvin Scholars Endowment. The fund will be used to engage students in interdisciplinary research and professional identity formation endeavors.

    Read more at the St. Thomas Newsroom

    Professional Identity Implementation Blog

    University of St. Thomas School of Law Faculty Statement and Call to Action

    January 29, 2026 Dear Community, The University of St. Thomas School of Law is inspired by justice, guided by faith, grounded in reason, committed to excellence, and devoted to advancing the common good. As faculty members of the School of Law, we write in our individual capacities to express our deep concern for our community and our country in light of the actions of some agents of DHS, ICE, and the Border Patrol that reflect a disregard for human dignity and the common good and a disregard for the Constitution and the Rule of Law. As members of a Catholic university we are guided by our obligation to recognize in all the human dignity with which they are endowed as people made in the image of God.  We are guided by Catholic Social Teaching which challenges us to live our lives in support of the common good in solidarity with our brothers and sisters and with a preferential option for the poor and marginalized. Over the past two months, our streets have been flooded with federal agents wearing masks, holding machine guns, boxing in U.S. citizens while waving guns in their faces, demanding people to show proof of citizenship. Many […]

    • Why Civility?

      In anticipation of the Toledo Law Review 2025-26 Legal Symposium “Civility & Professionalism in a Changing Legal World,” Professor David Grenardo wrote “Why Civility?” – now published on SSRN and forthcoming in the Toledo Law Review. In this article, Prof. Grenardo honestly and humorously recounts the life experiences which led him to become a zealous advocate of civility. He provides a broad overview of the benefits of civility in both an academic and a practice setting, laying out a compelling case for the importance of mandatory civility rules. Please see the abstract below: I spent the last fifteen years writing about civility, presenting on civility, and promoting civility for lawyers. Why have I devoted over a decade and a half to studying and advocating for civility in the legal profession? Why civility? Simply put: “Civility is the cornerstone of the legal profession.” This brief Essay highlights a number of my experiences as a practitioner and as a law professor that illustrate both the importance of civility and the costs of incivility to help answer the question of why civility. Part I of this Essay provides a definition and brief overview of civility. Part II of this Essay takes a practical […]

    • The Intersection of Professional Identity Formation and the Rule of Law

      In a fast-paced, energized 24-hours, over 50 participants gathered on October 24 and 25, 2025 at the University of St. Thomas School of Law for the Holloran Center’s Workshop on Professional Identity Formation and the Rule of Law. Participants included law professors and law school administrators from nearly 30 law schools along with some St. Thomas law students and representatives from the American Bar Association and West Academic. The Workshop was a culmination of the efforts of the Rule of Law Working Group, a joint enterprise of the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions and the “Pluralizing” Legal Professional Identity: Democracy, Equity, Justice, and the Law School Curriculum project led by Eduardo Capulong, and funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation. The rule of law has long been embedded in the Holloran Center’s foundational professional identity norms: a deep responsibility and commitment to serving clients, the profession, and the rule of law; a commitment to pro-active continuous professional development toward excellence at all the competencies needed to serve others well in the profession’s work. Earlier this year, however, the Holloran Center team came to appreciate that just as professional identity formation has been underemphasized in legal education, the rule of law likewise has not […]

    • Save the Date: 2026 First Annual Holloran Center Conference and Awards Ceremony

      About the Event  The Holloran Center will be celebrating its 20th anniversary by hosting the First Annual Holloran Center Conference and Awards Dinner on April 25, 2026. The conference event will also be structured as a University of St. Thomas Law Journal Symposium.     Speakers at the conference/symposium will include leading experts in professional identity formation. Committed speakers include Neil Hamilton, Barb Glesner-Fines, Lou Bilionis, Susan Brooks, Benjamin V. Madison III, Daisy Floyd, and Tim Floyd.   Following the Conference and Symposium, the St. Thomas Law Journal will publish an issue about professional identity formation that includes articles written by several of our speakers.  Registration for the Conference/Symposium and Awards Ceremony is available here!  Awards  As part of the first Annual Holloran Center Conference, the Holloran Center will present the following awards:  Most Helpful Professional Identity Formation Blog Best Professional Identity Formation Teaching Innovation  Best Professional Identity Formation Program Innovation  Best Article relating to Professional Identity Formation by a Junior Scholar  Best Article relating to Professional Identity Formation by a Senior Scholar   If you would like to nominate someone or some law school program for any of the awards above, please send an email with a description of the PIF teaching […]

    • Living Our Professional Values Through AI

      by Luke Cheman, 2L at the University of St. Thomas School of Law As a law student, I have started using AI here and there – drafting memos for class, testing my legal knowledge, or just seeing what it can do. At first, it felt like learning a new tech trick. But I have realized it is more than that. Each time I practice with AI, I am also practicing the values that will guide me as a lawyer: responsibility, judgment, and growth. In other words, using AI is already part of learning how to live my professional values. The Holloran Center compares professional values to the trunk of a tree.[1] The idea is simple: values are what everything else grows from. For lawyers, one of the biggest branches on that tree is responsibility. That means serving clients zealously but fairly, respecting the legal system, helping improve the law, and making sure more people have access to justice. It also means being honest in negotiation, guided by conscience, and willing to help clients think through tough choices. When we add AI into the picture, it is not just about learning a tool – it is also about finding new ways […]

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    Learning Outcomes Database

    This database contains all of the learning outcomes available on law school webpages. We have identified those law schools with “basic” learning outcomes as well as schools with more robust learning outcomes than required by the language of Standard 302.

    Learning Outcomes Database
    The word "competence" is circled on a board.

    Holloran Competency Milestones

    The Holloran Center Milestones are stage-development rubrics that describe the stages of development associated with each learning outcome. The Milestones for each learning outcome were developed by national working groups of faculty and staff from different law schools. A few were also developed internally at the Center.

    Holloran Competency Milestones
    Pixel art of a laptop showing the scales of justice.

    Professional Development Database

    This database identifies all the law schools with required first-year courses or programs focused on professional formation categorized by type of course or program. It also includes a searchable set of syllabi from those courses or programs when available.

    Professional Development Database

    Research and Training

    Roadmap for Employment

    Professor Neil Hamilton has developed and published a groundbreaking template for law students to use during all three years of law school in order to be fully prepared to find meaningful employment upon graduation.

    Roadmap for Employment

    Professional Formation Research

    See data on topics like professional identity formation, developing fiduciary mindsets, increasing student well-being, and more.

    See the Research

    Coach Training

    One-on-one coaching is the most effective curriculum to foster a student's growth toward later stages of development on both legal education's foundational learning outcomes and the student's post-graduation goals.

    Coach Training

    The Thomas Holloran Legacy

    The Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions is honored to have Thomas Holloran (1929-2024) as our inspiration and namesake. Holloran, who was a lawyer, a CEO, and a teacher, among other things, exemplified a unique model of servant leadership that combined excellence in business with a talent for mentoring.