Ben Johnson

Behind the scenes of modern legal profession lie centuries of tradition.

The word “barrister” comes from the “bar of the court”, a railing which separates the judges from the litigants and the public. A barrister was a person who pleaded a litigant’s case from the bar of the court. For many years, barristers had a monopoly on the right to present a lay person’s case at a trial before the higher courts in England and Wales.

In the Middle Ages the need for trainee lawyers to learn about the English Common Law led to the founding of hostels where they could live and study. The Inns were like universities where students were provided with accommodation and meals, as well as tuition. Nowadays the Inns have few residents, most of the accommodation being leased to barristers.

There are four Inns of Court: Gray’s Inn, Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. The Inns provide support for barristers and student barristers through a range of educational activities, lunching and dining facilities, access to common rooms and gardens, and provision of various grants and scholarships. One of the key functions of the Inns is their responsibility for calling barristers to the Bar. Anyone wishing to train for the Bar must join one of the Inns, and it is the Inns alone which have the power to call a student to the Bar.*

Every student who wants to become a barrister has, in addition to passing exams, to attend a certain number of dinners in the Inns of Court. During such dinners junior barristers meet in the Inns with their more experienced colleagues to communicate and gain knowledge in law.°

There are three categories of membership at the Inns: students, Members of Hall (barristers and Circuit Judges) and Benchers. Benchers are the most senior members and many of them are Judges and Law Lords. There are also Honorary and Royal Benchers.

TASK 4. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the origin of the word “barrister”?
2. What functions did the Inns perform when they were founded?
3. How have these functions changed since the Middle Ages?
4. Why does a student who wants to become a barrister have to attend a certain number of dinners in the Inns?
5. What are the functions of the Bar Council?

TASK 5. Render the following text into English, paying special attention to segments in bold type: