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Inns of Court

By Brett Gilbert

Everyone is familiar with the demands of law school. Many students also work as part-time interns throughout the school year. It?s hard to squeeze in any time for sleep, let alone networking.

According to several studies, over 60% of all jobs are found through networking. Membership in an American Inn of Court is the ultimate networking forum for meeting attorneys with hiring authority and/or input into hiring decisions. Furthermore, at some future point in time, many students will find themselves appearing before the judges they meet at the Inn.

An American Inn of Court (?AIC?) is an amalgam of no more than 80 members including judges, experienced lawyers, law professors, less experienced lawyers, and law students serving as a forum at which CLE dinner programs are held, featuring prominent speakers and informative seminars. It is the only legal organization in the United States dedicated to the enhancement of civility, ethics, and legal excellence. The main objective is establishing a society of legal professionals who work together to promote excellence in all fields of law. These events are organized and attended by practicing lawyers, judges and law students.

The format has proved very successful at developing camaraderie among the bench, bar and students. The Inn programs are designed specifically to promote interaction among members of the bar and judiciary, and lasting mentoring relationships are encouraged and fostered.

Some of you may be familiar with or are members of the Theodore Roosevelt Inn of Court in Nassau County. The Alexander Hamilton Inn of Court in Suffolk County was active until three years ago. Touro has taken the lead in reviving the Inn to provide students with this exceptional opportunity to get to know attorneys and judges on a more personal level. Many of the attorneys have hiring authority, so this is a convenient way to meet them long before it?s time to find a full-time position as an associate in a law firm. Best of all, membership is free! Note: Students are not restricted from membership in both Inns. In fact, we encourage students to double their networking opportunities by joining both Inns.

More information on the history and objectives of the organization can be found at www.innsofcourt.org.

Programs will be held in the Faculty Conference Room at Touro Law Center. Dinner is served at the beginning of each meeting. Topics for each program are carefully selected so that current areas of interest in the law are addressed in the context of everyday experiences which attorneys face in their practice.

Programs are generally created by a team of seasoned attorneys, less experienced attorneys, judges and law students. However, given the urgency of reviving the Inn as soon as possible, some members of the Executive Committee agreed to take on the responsibility for creating these programs without a large team.

The following programs are schedule to begin in January.

January 22, 2009
E-discovery
John Bracken, Esq., Bracken & Margolin
and
Hon. Arlene Lindsay, U.S. District Court

March 5, 2009
Ethics
James Wicks, Esq.,Farrell Fritz

April 16, 2009
Trials
Gene Berman, Esq., Eugene Berman, PC

May 21, 2009
Appellate Advocacy
Hon. Sol Wachtler,
Chief Justice, New York State Court of Appeals (retired)
and
Hon. Arlene Lindsay, U.S. District Court

Each program lasts for two (2) hours. Can you find a way to squeeze eight (8) hours into your schedule during the next semester?

Students interested in joining the Alexander Hamilton Inn of Court should request an application from Margarett Williams in the Career Services Office at mwilliams@tourolaw.edu.

Full post as published by Touro Law Center Career Services Office on November 10, 2008 (boomark / email).