The beginnings of Phi Alpha Delta were rooted in a legal controversy dating back to the late 1880s. In 1897, the Supreme Court of Illinois modified their rules for admission to the Illinois Bar, which seriously debilitated students then preparing for admission. To protect their rights, students organized the "Law Student League", securing the passage of an act that exempted students currently studying for the bar.

The students of the Law Student League enjoyed the cohesive environment and close association formed during their common struggle. Thus, in 1898, Lambda Epsilon Fraternity was created to preserve the founding ideals and principles of the Law Student League.

After seeing the great interest in an organization dedicated to professionalism, the legal field and fraternalism, Lambda Epsilon was dissolved because of the rigidity of its rules regarding the creation of new chapters. On July 17, 1902, the governing rules and rituals of Phi Alpha Delta were established with the four original chapters, Blackstone, Story, Fuller, Webster and Marshall. By 1910, the roster of Phi Alpha Delta had grown to twenty-three in number.

Some facts about the Pre-Law and International aspects of Phi Alpha Delta:

• Phi Alpha Delta was the first and only law fraternity to recognize the needs of pre-law students and to develop a program to help them as they pursue a career in the law.
• Since its inception, Phi Alpha Delta has experienced astounding growth and today is the world's largest law fraternity with over 200 pre-law chapters, 183 law schools chapters and 95 alumni chapters in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Phi Alpha Delta thus has far more active chapters in the world than any other law fraternity.
• Phi Alpha Delta is the only law fraternity to receive federal funding from the U.S. Department of Justice for its Law-Related Education and Youth for Justice Programs.