Reader (Inns of Court)

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A reader in one of the Inns of Court in London was originally a senior barrister of the Inn who was elected to deliver a lecture or series of lectures on a particular legal topic. [1] [2] Two readers (known as Lent and Autumn Readers) would be elected annually to serve a one-year term.

Lincoln's Inn became formally organised as a place of legal education thanks to a decree in 1464, which required a reader to give lectures to the law students there. [3]

By 1569 at Gray's Inn there had been readers for more than a century, and before the rise of the benchers they formed the governing body of the inn. [2]

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References

  1. "Inner Temple Admissions Database: Glossary". The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. Archived from the original on 2011-03-14. Retrieved 2010-07-10.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  2. 1 2 Simpson, A.W.B. (1975). "The Early Constitution of Gray's Inn". Cambridge Law Journal. Cambridge University Press. 34 (1): 138–139. ISSN   0008-1973.
  3. Ringrose, Hyacinthe (1909). The Inns of Court An Historical Description. Oxford: R.L. Williams. p. 81. OCLC   60732875.