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By Hon. Frank Sullivan, Jr. and Joel Schumm, Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law
On August 14, 280 new matriculants at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law took an Oath of Professionalism as they began their legal career, doing no less than pledging allegiance to the Rule of Law.
As these men and women embark on their journey to take their place in the bar, it is a propitious time for all of us who have the privilege and honor of teaching at the IU McKinney School of Law reflect on instilling in them a deep understanding of and respect for the rule of law. And for all of us who have the privilege and honor of being members of the bar, to reflect on conveying to our fellow citizens deep understanding and respect for the rule of law as well.
A principal way in which Professor Schumm pursues this task is by arranging for dozens and dozens of students each semester to serve as externs in the courts of Indiana. Thanks to the wonderful cooperation of judicial officers at the state and federal trial and appellate levels, our McKinney students experience first-hand the application of the rule of law, seeing the respect and care that our courts show in adjudicating disputes in which litigants have come to vindicate their legal rights and seek protection for their nearest and dearest interests.
Professor Sullivan has just completed an intensive series of lectures grounded in his own experience of almost 19 years as a Justice on the Indiana Supreme Court. Called “Law and the Administration of Justice,” this course was aimed at illustrating to future lawyers the operation of the rule of law, showing how courts operate and, more broadly, the fact that there are both adjudicative and administrative dimensions to each judge’s work, and a deeper understanding of the challenges that judges face in both these regards.
All to the end of instilling in our students a deep understanding of and respect for the rule of law. It is our hope and expectation that our students, armed with the full range of multiple and widely varying perspectives on how the rule of law can and should be achieved, will take their place as active and engaged members of the bar.
In the world outside of law school, we need to appreciate that in a democracy, the rule of law is not guaranteed. It is well within the power of the citizenry to change radically and for the worse the system of law and order we cherish and by which we make our livings. Corollary to that, the citizenry’s image of and attitude towards our system of law and order will in large measure depend on us – how we as lawyers and judges cause the rule of law to be perceived.
As lawyers, we must reflect credit by our example on our system of law and order so that the citizenry at large revere it as we revere it, not as complicated game with obscure rules but as an accessible and open method of fairly resolving disputes.
And as lawyers, we must engage in public debate over the issues of the day, share our views with our neighbors, colleagues, and friends, vote and act on our views so that when citizens form the consensus of popular opinion which is translated by legislators and judges and Presidents and Governors into the public policy, into the law which governs our state and nation, it preserves and furthers the rule of law.
Indeed, it is the responsibility of each of us as lawyers to convey to our fellow citizens deep understanding and respect for the rule of law so that it enjoys full measure of support from whom it derives its legitimacy.
Interested in diving deeper? Join the IndyBar Rule of Law Committee at its upcoming CLE on Constitution Day this September 17, 2025. The State of the American Rule of Law program will explore the vital importance of constitutional principles through the lens of an historic case with Indiana connections; one that delivered justice rooted in the American Rule of Law. The CLE will begin at 3 p.m. in the Indiana Supreme Court Courtroom and all attendees are encouraged to stick around for a reception hosted in the foyer at the conclusion of the program. This CLE has been approved for 1.0 General Credit. You can register by visiting www.indybar.org/constitution.•
Hon. Frank Sullivan, Jr. is the Professor of Practice at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law and an Indiana University Bicentennial Professor. He was a Justice on the Indiana Supreme Court from 1993 to 2012. Hon. Sullivan is an active member of IndyBar and leads its Bar Leader Series. He is also a Distinguished Life Fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation.
Joel Schumm is the Carl M. Gray Professor of Law at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He is an active member of IndyBar, serving as an at-large member of the Appellate Practice Section’s Executive Committee. He also assists with the Indiana Appellate Institute and serves on IndyBar’s Rule of Law Committee.
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