Guide to the Daniel D. Smith International School of Law collection, 1973-1978
A Collection in
Special Collections and Archives
Accession Number COLLECTION NUMBER
George Mason University Libraries
2006 By George Mason University Libraries. All rights reserved.
Processed by: Special Collections and Archives Staff
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no access restrictions.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Daniel D. Smith International School of Law collection must be obtained from Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Preferred Citation
Daniel D. Smith International School of Law collection, C0086, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries.
Acquisition Information
Donated by Daniel Smith in 2008.
Processing Information
Processed by Tom Duncan in 2010. EAD markup completed by Tom Duncan in 2010.
Biographical Information
Daniel D. Smith is a lawyer and a co-founder of the International School of Law in 1972, now the George Mason University School of Law. After receiving a law degree at the University of Virginia School of Law in 1969, Smith was admitted to the Virginia Bar and to the District of Columbia Bar shortly thereafter. When the International School of Law opened in 1972, Smith held the position of Administrative Dean. He later served as Acting Dean and then Associate Professor until he moved from teaching to private practice in 1978. He served as a member of the American Bar Association and the Virginia Bar Association and helped found and chaired several organizations, including Young Life of Loudoun County, the Loudoun Vocational Education Fund, and Loudoun Healthcare Foundation.
Scope and Content
This collection contains materials related to Smith's role in creating the International School of Law, which later became the George Mason University School of Law, including correspondence, publications and faculty and board meeting minutes.
Series 1 of this collection provides information on the founding of the law school, the policies it held and the Judeo-Christian principles under which it was founded.
Series 2 contains the minutes from faculty and Board of Trustee meetings, arranged by date. These meetings discussed various topics from faculty appointments and dismissals on how to win American Bar Association accreditation.
Series 3 deals with the accreditation issue more directly. The International School of Law spent years attempting to gain the American Bar Association approval and suffered a number of setbacks and rejections. Series 3 contains the letters between the law school and the Association, suggestions for improvements and the actions taken by the school.
Series 4 contains a number of writings by Daniel Smith, including notes from the Contract Law course he taught for the law school while there.
Series 5 contains a number of publications by the International School of Law, in the form of newsletters, as well as correspondence with several States' Supreme Courts and the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners in attempts to allow their non-accredited graduates to sit for the bar exam. This series also contains material on the mergers and affiliations that the International School of Law tried to develop in order to gain accreditation. The merger with George Mason University is the last and most successful of these.
Series 6 contains information on the day-to-day administration of the International School of Law, complete with hirings and salaries as well as disciplinary action for Deans and professors who were dismissed and replaced during the law schools independency. This last series also contains the personal log book that Smith kept while employed by the law school.
Arrangement
Organized into six series.
Series 1: Principles and Policies, 1972-1977 (Box 1) Series 2: Meetings, 1972-1978 (Box 1) Series 3: American Bar Association Accreditation, 1972-1978 (Box 1) Series 4: Daniel D. Smith, 1970s (Box 1) Series 5: International School of Law, 1970s (Box 1) Series 6: Administrative and Faculty Matters, 1973-1978 (Box 2)Related Material
Special Collections holds other archives pertaining to the establishment of George Mason University and the development of academic departments.
Index Terms
- International School of Law.
- Law schools--Virginia.
- Law schools--Washington (D.C.)
Corporate Names:
Subjects:
Contents List
This series contains information on the founding of the International School of Law, the principles behind the school and its administrative policies.
- Box: 1
Folder: 1
Founding and Principles,1972-1975
Declaration of Trust, Christian Basis, Statements of Purpose, Institution's Philosophy
- Box: 1
Folder: 2
Policies,1972-1977 and Undated
General Policies, Academic Regulations, Academic Programs
- Box: 1
Folder: 3
By-Laws and Faculty Manual,1975-1977
- Box: 1
Folder: 4
Feasibility Study and Self-Studies,1977 and Undated
This series contains the minutes from meetings of the faculty and Board of Trustees for the International School of Law.
- Box: 1
Folder: 5
Faculty Meetings,November 7, 1972 - May 3, 1978
- Box: 1
Folder: 6
Board of Trustees Meetings,1973-1976
Minutes from the Board of Trustees meetings, Deans Annual Reports
This series contains correspondence between the International School of Law and the American Bar Association, attempts to become accredited, and notes and suggestions how to win Bar approval.
- Box: 1
Folder: 7
American Bar Association Accreditation,August, 1972 - December, 1974
James P. White, Tightening Accreditation Standards, Recommendations
- Box: 1
Folder: 8
American Bar Association Accreditation,January, 1975 - June, 1978
International School of Law Relocation and Remodeling, Letters of Recommendation and Rejection, The International School of Law's Critique of the American Bar Association
This series contains correspondence and writing by Daniel D. Smith while at the International School of Law.
- Box: 1
Folder: 9
Correspondence,1973-1976
- Box: 1
Folder: 10
Daniel Smith Writings,1970s
Notes for Smith's Contract Law class, "Evolution and Jurisprudence", Thoughts on moral law
This series includes publications by the International School of Law, correspondence with states' Supreme Courts and the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners, and information on International School of Law mergers and affiliations.
- Box: 1
Folder: 11
International School of Law Publications,1974-1976
International School of Law Newsletter, International School of Law "Evidence"
- Box: 1
Folder: 12
States' Supreme Court and Virginia Board of Bar Examiners Correspondence,1975
Requests for International School of Law graduates to be permitted to sit for bar examinations.
- Box: 1
Folder: 13
Mergers - Attempted and Successful,1970s
The Latin American Institute, Southeastern University, George Mason University
This series contains faculty directories, salary information, correspondence between faculty and staff, and incidents among the faculty.
- Box: 2
Folder: 1
Administrative and Faculty Matters,March, 1973 - December, 1974
John Brabner-Smith, Budget Concerns, John Montgomery, Tony Nania
- Box: 2
Folder: 2
Administrative and Faculty Matters,January, 1975 - June, 1978
Ralph Norvell, Faculty Member Publications, Review of John Brabner-Smith and Dismissal, Daniel D. Smith's Request for Leave of Absence
- Box: 2
Folder: 3
Daniel D. Smith's Log Book,Undated
Personal log book with notes taken while at the International School of Law