It was the end of our first week in Cambridge when we embarked on our first trip to the marvelous city of London. The purpose of our trip was to take an arranged tour of the Inns of Court. The Inns of Court is physically located in the heart of central London, and is the main body of England’s elite legal system. In short, the Inns of Court is made up of four Inns: these are Lincoln’s Inn, the Inner Temple, the Middle Temple and Gray’s Inn. Within these historical Inns, the best and brightest of England’s past and present have been practicing law for over four centuries.
The English legal system goes back to the year 1215 with the creation of the Magna Carta which guaranteed basic civil liberties. Since the creation of the Magna Carta, the English Legal system has evolved into what is now known as Custom Law and Statue Law. Custom Law is based on customs and precedents that have been traditionally passed down and are now recognized as public rights –rights such as Habeas Corpus. Statute Law refers to laws that have been passed by Parliament over time.
Today, the Inns of Courts themselves are an important part of the legal system. They are occupied by three groups of persons: students, barristers, and benchers. The students of the Inns are those who have already completed a undergraduate degree and are studying to become barristers. A barrister in the English legal system is similar to that of an American trial lawyer. However, there are very few barristers in England and thus the position of Barrister commands much respect.
As we began our tour of the Inns of Court we were first led to The Old Hall of Lincoln’s Inn. This building built in the fifth year of King Henry VII (1490), is a beautiful and well preserved building which was constructed before Christopher Columbus set sail for the new world. The Old Hall was also where Sir Thomas More joined the Inns of Court in 1496, and where he spent the majority of his professional career. After touring the area around the Old Hall, we proceeded to meet barristers Tim Amos and John Odgers and QC (Queens Councillor) Sir Robert Wright for lunch. For lunch we were both extremely honored and humbled to take part in splendid three course meal in The Great Hall. The Great Hall was built in 1843-45 and is truly an amazing sight. The hall is a room of amazing space in which there are numerous paintings and portraits of great historical figures who have served the Inns of Court. After a most excellent lunch with wonderful conversation and amazing scenery, we split into two groups and were given a very personal tour by the barristers Tim Amos and John Odgers.
Tim Amos was the gentleman who provided our group with a most enlightening and entertaining tour of Lincolns Inn.. Here, we had the opportunity to observe how the English system of law works, and to see Mr. Amos in his beautiful robe and wig. In all, one would have to say that the best part of our tour was the genuine kindness and patience that Mr. Almos displayed as he showed us the best of this ancient yet respect commanding center of English Law.