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.
Holloran Center Celebrates 20th Anniversary
In an Evening of Gratitude on April 24, 2026, the Holloran Center celebrated its 20th anniversary and Prof. Neil Hamilton’s work as its founding director upon his retirement.
This evening gave us an opportunity to pause with gratitude for the Holloran Center’s first 20 years, celebrate the community's many accomplishments in the professional identity formation sphere, and reflect on the work that is to come. It was also an opportunity to honor Prof. Hamilton for his vision, fundraising, leadership, and scholarship.
This milestone is shared by the University of St. Thomas School of Law community and our nationwide pilgrim fellowship. We are grateful for all who have made the work of the Holloran Center possible, and hopeful about what will grow from this shared work in years to come.
Read the Providential Story of the first 20 years of the Holloran Center here.
Get to know the Holloran Center
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.
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 and Tourek-Marvin, Gherty, and Shea 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.
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.
Explore Our Tools and Resources
See Our Research and Training
The Holloran Center offers research and training in professional development formation.
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.
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 and Tourek-Marvin, Gherty, and Shea 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.
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.
Explore Our Tools and Resources
See Our Research and Training
The Holloran Center offers research and training in professional development formation.
Professional Identity Formation and Well-Being Resources
- A Definition of Professional Identity Formation
- Revised Standard 303 Part 1
- Revised Standard 303 Part 2
- Revised Standard 303 Part 3
- Standard 303: A Framework for the Intentional Exploration of Values
- Suffering in Silence (2016)
- It is Okay to Not Be Okay (2022)
- The Phantom Menace to Professional Identity Formation (2023)
Rule of Law Initiative
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.
Professional Identity Implementation Blog
Podcast Interview with Neil Hamilton
Neil Hamilton has officially been honored as Professor Emeritus of the University of St. Thomas School of Law and Emeritus Founding Director of the Holloran Center. To mark the occasion, we are pleased to share an interview with Neil featured in the latest season of St. Thomas’s Professor Podcast. In the episode, Neil reflects on his career and his research on ethical professional formation, including the importance of purpose, professional identity, experiential learning, reflection, and mentorship. He also discusses how generational changes and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence are shaping legal education and increasing the importance of distinctly human skills, including empathy, judgment, and relationship-building. We are deeply grateful for Neil’s many years of service and his lasting contributions to ethical leadership and professional formation. We hope you enjoy listening to the episode. Listen to Neil’s interview on Professor Podcast.
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A Tale of Two Civilities
by Andrew Mamo, Professor of Law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law Those involved in PIF may be interested in a new article recently published in the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, A Tale of Two Civilities. This article grounds the institutionalization of civility initiatives in the law in the legal, political, and cultural environment of the United States in 1971, when Chief Justice Warren Burger emphasized “the necessity for civility.” Crucially, Burger explicitly argued that radical lawyering practices lay beyond the pale of civility. In this, Burger was joined by a significant cross-section of the legal profession, including judges, leaders of bar associations, law school deans, and other commentators. But even as Burger argued that norms of civility were essential to the reasoned adjudication of conflicts, those more sympathetic to radical claims and those with an anti-formalist bent argued that civility protected institutions from necessary critique and obscured the true nature of conflict by limiting what was discussable. A law professor warned that we lived in “a lawless society, and it is the executive branch that is acting lawlessly,” and argued that we needed to develop our capacities to identify systemic injustices. The alternative to Burger’s civility […]
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“Avoiding the Slippery Slope”: Interview with Holloran Fellow Hank Shea
We are pleased to share this interview with Holloran Center Fellow Hank Shea. This was originally published by Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession. “I started to ask, How could I still do my job but achieve justice outside the box? During plea negotiations, I started encouraging defendants to pay restitution immediately, not when the court orders it. In cases of public corruption and environmental crimes where the whole community is being harmed, I said, ‘If you really want to do the right thing, do something to restore and heal the entire community.'” You can read the interview here.
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Announcement: Jerry Organ Appointed Interim Dean of School of Law
We are excited to share the news that Holloran Center Co-Director Jerry Organ will serve as Interim Dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law for the 2026-27 Academic Year. In a letter to faculty and staff this week, Professor Organ reiterated his commitment to steward and build on the unique community of care we have here at the School of Law. As one of the founding faculty members of the law school, he has been living out the mission as a servant leader from the school’s inception, and we know he will sustain and foster our goals of love of student, love of neighbor, and love of knowledge. A letter from Provost Eddy Rojas regarding this appointment is included below. Dear School of Law Faculty and Staff, As you know, Dean Dan Kelly has accepted an offer to become the next dean of the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. While we will miss Dan’s leadership and contributions to the University of St. Thomas School of Law, his appointment is also a meaningful recognition of the strength, reputation, and growing national profile of our law school. Over the last several days, I have engaged in […]
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By the Numbers: The Holloran Center
By Barbara Glesner Fines, Rubey M. Hulen Professor of Law, Dean Emerita of UMKC School of Law (header photo, from L to R: Jerry Organ, Ben Madison, Barb Glesner Fines, Daisy Floyd, Timothy Floyd, Erika Pont, Neil Hamilton, David Grenardo) The occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Holloran Center provides an opportunity to review the Center’s twenty years by the numbers. First, let’s just count heads at Holloran: One. Neil Hamilton, whose interest and concern for professionalism and the development of ethical leaders has been the centerpiece of his work since the beginning of his career. A prodigious, thoughtful, humble, and generous scholar. His humility, wisdom, and collaborative spirit set the Center up for success from day one. Two. Jerry Organ, with Neil, a founding member of the University of St Thomas School of Law. Also an influential scholar, Jerry has brought an indefatigable energy and a brilliant talent at convening and communication that ensured that the Holloran Center would never be a best kept secret. Three. A magical number, that magic came together when Tom Holloran gave his time, talent, and treasure to ensure that the Holloran Center would have strength, stability, and impact. His spirit continues to […]
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.
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.
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.
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.
Professional Formation Research
See data on topics like professional identity formation, developing fiduciary mindsets, increasing student well-being, and more.
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.
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.