David Blankfein-Tabachnick is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean at Michigan State University College of Law. He led the College's successful application for membership in the Order of the Coif and its application to host Georgetown Law Professor Josh Chafetz the 2026 Order of the Coif Distinguished Visitor. Here, DBT reflects on what these honors mean for MSU Law's students, faculty, and scholarly community.
I am absolutely delighted that MSU College of Law has been inducted into the Order of the Coif and selected to host the 2026 Distinguished Visitor. These achievements reflect the College's extraordinary growth in national prominence and its important place in the legal academy.
Building Excellence: The Path to Institutional Recognition
Both honors, earned through rigorous national competition, reflect the work of our entire faculty, the excellence of our students, and the College's collective dedication to advancing legal knowledge. I was honored to lead our membership application and to conceive, champion, and execute our proposal to host this year's Distinguished Visitor, work that advances an intellectual mission I care deeply about. I am proud beyond words to be among the principal architects of MSU's academic leap forward.
The Order of the Coif: Excellence Recognized
The Order of the Coif is among American legal academia's highest honors. Our induction places MSU Law among a select group of schools demonstrating sustained excellence in legal scholarship, evidenced by faculty scholarship, the acclaimed Michigan State Law Review and Law Faculty Workshop Series, our clinics, law library, moot court program, academic centers, and student publications, following a highly selective process involving rigorous external national review.
Membership signals to employers, judges, and the profession that MSU Law graduates and faculty operate at the highest levels of scholarship and professional competence. Inducted students earn a credential that opens doors to prestigious clerkships and leading firms, while faculty affiliation enhances scholarly standing within the academy.
The 2026 Distinguished Visitor Program
The Coif Distinguished Visitor program brings leading scholars to member schools to enrich intellectual life and stimulate rigorous academic exchange. MSU Law's selection, chosen competitively from a strong pool of applicants, recognizes our national profile and commitment to serious scholarly engagement. I'm especially excited to welcome Professor Josh Chafetz, one of the nation's most influential scholars of structural constitutional law and the relationship between law and politics.
The Coif Visitor: Professor Josh Chafetz
Professor Chafetz holds the Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professorship of Law and Politics at Georgetown Law. He earned his J.D. from Yale Law School and clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi on the Second Circuit. His scholarship has fundamentally shaped understandings of Congress, constitutional structure, and democratic governance.
Professor Chafetz's Visit to MSU Law
During his visit to East Lansing, Chafetz will give classroom visits, informal meetings with student and faculty groups, and a major public address open to the academic community, local bench and bar, alumni, and Coif chapter members.
Looking Forward
I am tremendously excited to welcome Professor Chafetz and to celebrate MSU Law's Coif membership, milestones marking the College's continued development as a center of legal excellence. These achievements affirm our national standing and position us to attract leading scholars, inspire our students, and contribute meaningfully to the legal academy. I am grateful to the many colleagues whose work made these accomplishments possible.
