Inns of Court

 

collective name of the four legal societies in London that have the exclusive right of admission to the bar. These societies—Lincoln's Inn, Gray's Inn, the Inner Temple, and the Middle Temple (see also Temple, the)—date from before the 14th cent. They take their name from the buildings where originally schools of law were held, apprentice lawyers gathering to learn from masters of law, much as in guild training. Today the societies are more like clubs, although they still control admission to the bar. The Inns of Chancery were lesser societies (preparatory colleges for law), dependent on the Inns of Court; their importance declined in the 18th cent., and they disappeared in the 19th cent.

Bibliography

See W. B. Prest, The Inns of Court under Elizabeth I and the Early Stuarts, 1590–1640 (1972).

The Inns of Court, in London, are the professional associations to one of which every English barrister (and those judges who were formerly barristers) must belong. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional accommodation. Each also has a church or chapel attached to it. Each Inn of Court is a self-contained precinct within London, where barristers traditionally train and practise, although growth in the profession caused many barristers' chambers to move outside the precincts of the Inns of Court in the late 20th century.

History and composition

Several centuries ago the Inns of Court were any of a sizable number of buildings or precincts where barristers traditionally lodged, trained and carried on their profession.

Over the centuries the number of active Inns of Court was reduced to four, which are Lincoln's Inn, Gray's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple.

The Inns are located near the western border of the City of London (i.e. the central part of the London urban area); nearby is the Royal Courts of Justice, which was placed here in the legal quarter of London for convenience (opened in 1882; these Courts sat previously in Westminster Hall). Each inn is a substantial complex with a great hall, chapel, libraries, sets of chambers for many hundreds of barristers, and gardens; and covers several acres. The layout is similar to that of an "Oxbridge" college. The "chambers" were originally used as residences as well as business premises by many of the barristers, but today, with a small number of exceptions, they serve as offices only.

Membership and governance

The Inns of Court have three grades of membership: students, barristers, and Masters of the Bench or "benchers". The benchers constitute the governing body and are self-electing i.e. existing benchers co-opt new benchers from amongst the membership of the Inn. The senior bencher of each Inn is the Treasurer, a position which is held for one year only.

The Inns of Court no longer provide all the education and training needed by prospective barristers (who must pass the Bar Vocational Course) but do provide supplementary education during the 'Bar School' year, pupillage and the early years of practice. All prospective Bar School students must be a member of one of the four Inns. The Inns still retain the sole right to call qualified students to the bar (a right currently found in section 27(3) of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990). The Inns also formally pronounce the sentence determined in disciplinary proceedings, including the ultimate sanction of disbarment.

Location

Middle Temple and Inner Temple are liberties of the City of London, which means they are within the historic boundaries of the City but are not subject to its jurisdiction. They operate as their own local authorities. The closest London Underground station is Temple.

Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn are in the London Borough of Camden (formerly in the Borough of Holborn), just by the border with the City of London. They have no such status as local authorities. The nearest tube station is Chancery Lane.

Other Inns

Another important inn, Serjeants' Inn, was dissolved in 1877 and its assets were, controversially, distributed amongst the existing members. The membership of the Inn had consisted of a small class of senior barristers called Serjeants-at-law, who were selected from the members of the other four inns and had exclusive rights of audience in certain Courts. Their pre-eminence was affected by the new rank of Queen's Counsel which was granted to barristers who were not serjeants. The serjeant's privileges were withdrawn by the government in the 19th century, no more serjeants were appointed, and they eventually died out. The area now known as Serjeants' Inn (which is one of two sites formerly occupied by the Serjeants, the other being in Chancery Lane) was purchased by the Inner Temple in 2002.

It was formerly the custom for senior judges to join Serjeants' Inn, thereby leaving the Inn in which they had practised as barristers. This meant that the Masters of the Bench of the four barristers' Inns of Court were mostly themselves barristers. Now, however, there being no Serjeants' Inn, judges remain in the Inns which they joined as students and belonged to as barristers. This has had the effect of making the majority of the Masters of the Bench senior judges, either because they become benchers when appointed as judges, or because they become judges after being appointed as benchers.

There were also minor Inns of Chancery, including Furnival's Inn and Thavie's Inn (attached to Lincoln's Inn), and Staple Inn and Barnard's Inn (attached to Gray's Inn). There was also a Clement's Inn. However, there were and are only four Inns of Court, which have a special and historic status including, for example, the authority to call members to the Bar and therefore confer on them rights of audience in the High Court. The other Inns (none of which continues to function), including the Inns of Chancery, were not Inns of Court.

There is also an Inn of Court of Northern Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland, there exists only one Inn of Court, namely the Honorable Society of King's Inns (note not Honourable).

Beginning in the late 1970's, U.S. Chief Justice Warren Burger led a movement to create Inns of Court in the United States. Although they are loosely modeled after the traditional English Inns, American Inns of Court do not include any real property. Instead, they are groups of judges, practicing attorneys, law professors and students who meet regularly to discuss and debate issues relating to legal ethics and professionalism. American Inn of Court meetings typically consist of a shared meal and a program presented by one of the Inn's pupillage teams. Chief Justice Burger and others established the American Inns of Court Foundation in 1985 to promote and charter Inns of Court across the United States.

Inns of Court
Gray's Inn | Lincoln's Inn | Inner Temple | Middle Temple

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