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Inns of Court?

Hey guys...

If at all possible could someone please explain the Inns of court system to me please.

I originally thought that if one wanted to become a barrister at Uni, one should join one of the four Inns of Court:

Lincoln's Inn
Inner Temple
Middle Temple
Gray's Inn

But now I am confused. After looking for mini-pupilages I have discovered there are tons of chambers, including the four above. :confused:

Thanks for your help

Jason

Reply 1

Onearmedbandit

17

Inns of Court are not chambers :smile:

Chambers are simply where you work. Think 'offices' when you see 'chambers'.

Reply 2

THE PROPHETOR!

OP

Onearmedbandit

Inns of Court are not chambers :smile:

Chambers are simply where you work. Think 'offices' when you see 'chambers'.

Right so are the four Inns of court, chambers as well?

Jason

Reply 3

Onearmedbandit

17

Nah, the Inns of Court are just the pidgeon holes you have to fit yourself into. Basically it's like joining a barristers' club where you go out dining and playing croquet to boost your social status and get more work (and so you can charge an extra £50. per hour!).

Reply 4

kingslaw

14

Basically, the Inns of Court are a hangover from the days when all voctional legal training (for the Bar) was conducted by the Inns of Court only (i.e. no BPP, College of Law, etc). For qualified barristers nowadays, as they did back then, they primarily serve a social purpose. As a member of an Inn you can go to all their dinners, parties, competitions, trips, etc, etc.

However, it is still compusorly for anyone wanting to qualify as a barrister to be a member of an Inn. You cannot complete your BVC and be called to the Bar without being a member of one of them. Educationally, they are in fact very useful. They frequently put on advocacy seminars/training sessions and mooting and debating competitions as well as other social events specifically for students. I for one will be a member of Middle Temple in a couple of months (they frequently put on events and lend barristers for events for King's law students, so I assume there is some sort of 'special relationship' there!).

Oh, and also they provide scholarships for various things :smile:

Edit: It's not really 'necessary' to join an Inn until your third year (if you plan to move straight onto the BVC). However, there are benefits for joining earlier - particuarily if you're a London student.

Reply 5

Onearmedbandit

17

kingslaw

Basically, the Inns of Court are a hangover from the days when all voctional legal training (for the Bar) was conducted by the Inns of Court only (i.e. no BPP, College of Law, etc). For qualified barristers nowadays, as they did back then, they primarily serve a social purpose. As a member of an Inn you can go to all their dinners, parties, competitions, trips, etc, etc.

However, it is still compusorly for anyone wanting to qualify as a barrister to be a member of an Inn. You cannot complete your BVC and be called to the Bar without being a member of one of them. Educationally, they are in fact very useful. They frequently put on advocacy seminars/training sessions and mooting and debating competitions as well as other social events specifically for students. I for one will be a member of Middle Temple in a couple of months (they frequently put on events and lend barristers for events for King's law students, so I assume there is some sort of 'special relationship' there!).

Oh, and also they provide scholarships for various things :smile:

Edit: It's not really 'necessary' to join an Inn until your third year (if you plan to move straight onto the BVC). However, there are benefits for joining earlier - particuarily if you're a London student.

Who's got a special thing going with UCL? :smile:

Reply 6

UCL_Law

4

There are/have been recently dinners organised with Inner and Temple.

Reply 7

jurisprudence

There's also the two Irish Inns which let you practice in England and Wales

In the Republic: Kings Inns
In The North: The Bar Library

Reply 8

kingslaw

14

Onearmedbandit

Who's got a special thing going with UCL? :smile:

For obvious reasons, I have no idea!!

My comment about the King's/Inner Temple thing is entirely founded on the fact that a lot of stuff for King's law students seems to have been organised by them recently. I have no idea whether there is any real truth in that assumption. Nor does it account for my incredibly poor memory skills (i.e. Outer Temple/Gray's/Lincoln may have organised events too).

Reply 9

treff

1

Got a related question :smile:

: Does rivalry exist among the different Inns of Court? And are all the Inns of Court fairly equal, or is there one or two that emerge/s as particularly better/superior to the others?

Reply 10

Russell

1

Inner Temple. Definitely the best.

Reply 11

treff

1

Russell

Inner Temple. Definitely the best.

Really? Why?

Apologies if I appear clueless---I really know little about the Inns of Court. :smile:

Reply 12

Hughski

2

It really makes very little difference. Certain Inns give scholarships more on the basis of merit and others more on the basis of need. That's one major difference. Go to their websites and you can find a lot more out about each of them!!

Reply 13

tommorris

17

kingslaw

Edit: It's not really 'necessary' to join an Inn until your third year (if you plan to move straight onto the BVC). However, there are benefits for joining earlier - particuarily if you're a London student.

Does anyone know when the best time is to join for those doing CPE/GDL?

(Perhaps we need the "Ultimate Law FAQ" so we can get all these questions out the way)

Reply 14

kingslaw

14

tommorris

Does anyone know when the best time is to join for those doing CPE/GDL?

(Perhaps we need the "Ultimate Law FAQ" so we can get all these questions out the way)

If you're doing the CPE, then the latest you should join I think would be the beggining of that year. You should definitely have joined by the time you're doing BVC's (especially as some Inns will run seminars on how to perform at an interview for the BVC/pupillage).

Edit: And an "Ultimate Law FAQ" sounds like quite a good idea actually. I'll consider doing one, especially as I spend almost all of my TSR in this sub-forum anyway. Any veterans of the Law subforum (or simply veterans of the Law in general by virtue of being a postgrad/LPC/BVC student or currently working in firms, chambers) fancy helping?

Reply 15

Russell

1

Really? Why?

Apologies if I appear clueless---I really know little about the Inns of Court.

Well...I think that only because I am a member.

Reply 16

NDGAARONDI

16

I quite like Gray's Inn for their court work, forget what it is called. And have been there myself.

Reply 17

tommorris

17

kingslaw

If you're doing the CPE, then the latest you should join I think would be the beggining of that year. You should definitely have joined by the time you're doing BVC's (especially as some Inns will run seminars on how to perform at an interview for the BVC/pupillage).

How early can you join? For instance, can you join in the last year of a non-law course? Should you?

Edit: And an "Ultimate Law FAQ" sounds like quite a good idea actually. I'll consider doing one, especially as I spend almost all of my TSR in this sub-forum anyway. Any veterans of the Law subforum (or simply veterans of the Law in general by virtue of being a postgrad/LPC/BVC student or currently working in firms, chambers) fancy helping?

I've put up a page on LawWiki (which, I must apologise is in a state of disrepair - though, if you don't like it, don't bitch - help!):
http://www.bbcity.co.uk/rd/lawwiki/index.php/Studying_Law_FAQ

Just click 'edit' and add more questions and answers. Don't worry if you mess things up, it's easy to fix.