Inspired by London’s ancient Inns, Kings County Inn is now in its 15th year

Chuck Otey's Pro Bono Barrister

June 1, 2015 By Charles F. Otey, Esq. Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Justice Marsha Steinhardt. Eagle file photo

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(Editor’s Note: The following is Part I of a special two-part feature on the Kings County Inn of Court. Part II will follow next week.)

It was a chance early-evening meeting in the judicial parking lot adjacent to 360 Adams St. that set in motion a series of actions that would coalesce around the creation of the Kings County Nathan Sobel American Inn of Court.

On that chilly evening, about 15 years ago, Justices Marsha Steinhardt, Abraham Gerges and Edward Rappaport reviewed their early discussions about launching a Kings County American Inn of Court. They chatted briefly, reviewed the pros and cons and concluded on the spot that it was indeed the time to heed the call of Chief Justice Warren Burger, who had been working since 1985 to bring the ancient English Inns of Court to the United States.

Next, they met with Justice Gerard Rosenberg, a longtime advocate of a Kings County Inn Chapter. He had already consulted with his Wisconsin University roommate, Hal Braff, a member of the national board of the American Inns of Court, who was familiar with the requirements and procedures to be observed in qualifying for inn membership.

The requirements were substantial and would, in the next year, see the four justices spending hundreds of hours investigating inn rules and traditions, enlisting barristers and constructing teams that would enact actual courtroom scenarios illustrating various points of law.

Unlike other prominent bar organizations, the justices learned, a “proper” inn of court had to be a forum for learning and collegiality, a welcoming place in which new lawyers — even law students — could freely mingle with and benefit from the talents of the barristers and masters of the inn.

Justice Burger Said U.S. Inns Would Boost Legal Profession

They were all very much aware that Chief Justice Burger had galvanized many barristers across the nation to set up their own inns, which were dedicated to the traditions and practices of the London Inns of Court founded more than 800 years ago. Chief Justice Burger urged the creation of American Inns of Court to counter the negativity often displayed against the legal profession.

The American Inns of Court concept was well underway and was enthusiastically promoted by Kings Inn founders Hons. Steinhardt, Rosenberg, Gerges and Rappaport.

“We consulted with other Kings jurists and lawyers,” recalls Justice Steinhardt. “To our pleasant surprise, we found that jurists, barristers and law students were interested and anxious to join our Kings chapter.”

Deciding how American inns would function — i.e., how much they would adhere to the principles of the ancient inns of court — was a challenge at first.

The London Inns of Court, about as old as the Magna Carta, got underway as places in which experienced barristers and apprentices could meet in a collegial atmosphere and approach the legal issues of the day. In effect, they were also the only law schools.

Toward this end, the early inns held regular “qualifying sessions,” a practice that was adopted, in part, by the newer American Inns of Court, which were chartered in the early 1980s. In these sessions, seasoned barristers would demonstrate evolving points of law and procedure.

How much like the London inns could the American inns become? That was one question facing the four founders. Realistically, it was clear that the U.S. inns would have to find their own way, largely because the London inns were large and multi-functional.

“Each London 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,” according to one authoritative publication.

Justice Rosenberg: Our Barristers Would Not Wear Wigs

They quickly decided to go for a much more streamlined version, in line with other already existing American inns, in which lawyers, judges and students could have their own “qualifying sessions,” in which Continuing Legal Education credit is provided and, in the spirit of collegiality, inn members — including students — sit down for a common meal.

The ancient inns’ history, they learned, was intertwined with social and political changes — as well as various wars that often rocked England. At one time, in the 12th and 13th centuries, the practice of law in the city of London was taught primarily by the clergy.

“During the 13th Century,” one web source notes, “two events happened that destroyed this form of legal education; firstly, a decree by Henry III of England on 2 December 1234 that no institutes of legal education could exist in the city of London … and secondly, a papal bull that prohibited the clergy from teaching the common law, rather than canon law. As a result, the existing system of legal education fell apart. The common lawyers migrated to the hamlet of Holburn, the nearest place to the law courts of Westminster Hall that was outside the city.”

Actually, as any lawyer visiting London these days knows, Holburn is now part of the “new” London and has been for centuries. With the signing of the Magna Carta came a greater respect for the rule of law — even by the royals — on paper, at least. Again, web research reports that the London inns gradually gained recognition throughout England. “Gray’s Inn,” well known even to American barristers, “dates from at least 1370” and still functions along with three other inns.

The inns proceeded to develop, as it were, by trial and error. Up until the Elizabethan Era, the paths a law student would take to become a full-fledged barrister varied in length and substance. One web source noted that “Central to Gray’s was the system shared across the inns of court of progress towards a call to the bar, which lasted approximately 12 to 14 years(!)” (Our exclamation.)

Kings Inn Sessions Combine Presentation and Dinner

With a much simpler mission, many of the American inns would devote part of their session to a well-conceived presentation dealing with a specified area of practice. The Kings Inn founders elected to follow this procedure, with the actual session taking place in a courtroom at 360 Adams St.

Sometimes, the collegiality dinner would be a gourmet buffet taking place before the session and, on other occasions, the group would travel en masse for dinner at a select restaurant in the Court Street area.

In addition, the Kings Inn would be structured, as much as possible, in the style of the London inns. Currently, these are the officers: President Dave Chidekel, President-elect Justice Arthur Schack, Counselor Hon. Miriam Cyrulnik and Treasurer Jon Besunder. Immediate past president is Justice Ellen Spodek. Lucy DiSalvo is administrator, while Jeff Feldman serves as executive director.

Among those serving as inn masters are Justice Carl Landicino, Judge Joanne Quinones, Hon. Barry Kamins, Appellate Division Justices Cheryl Chambers and Sylvia Hinds-Radix, Hon. Miriam Cyrulnik, Hon. Gloria Cohen Aronin, Joseph Rosato, Jon Besunder, Justice Sylvia Ash, Andrea Bonina, Victoria Lombardi, Steve Harkavy and Steve Goolnick.

(Next week in “Pro Bono Barrister”: How Kings Inn Formed and Now Fares. Was it difficult to start the Kings Inn? Has it served its purpose? Was there opposition? What’s happened in 15 years?)