The Randy H . Lee American Inn of Court in Grand Forks is one of four that have been established throughout North Dakota . The others are The Ronald N . Davies Inn ( Fargo ); The Judge Bruce M . Van Sickle Inn ( Bismarck ); and The Fort Union Inn ( Williston and Watford City ).
Each of North Dakota ’ s chartered American Inns of Court serves its local legal community through opportunities for learning , mentoring , and formation of collegial bonds among lawyers and judges from a wide variety of practice areas and levels of experience . To promote these goals , the members of The Randy H . Lee American Inn of Court are organized every program year ( September through April ) into pupillage teams , consisting of at least one member from each of the following categories : ( 1 ) Masters ( judges , law professors , and lawyers who have at least 15 years of experience and have “ superior character , ability , and competence ”); ( 2 ) Barristers ( lawyers who have from five to 15 years of experience , as well as “ good character and a desire to improve and refine their skills as advocates ”); ( 3 ) Associates ( lawyers who have from zero to 5 years of experience ); and ( 4 ) Pupils ( law students who apply for membership and are chosen by UND School of Law faculty who are Inn members ). The Inn is led by an executive committee , consisting of elected officers ( president , vice president , secretary , and treasurer ) and membership and program committee chairs .
Although Inn chapters have variations in their bylaws and governing processes ( e . g ., qualification for pupil membership ), the essential structure and organizational pieces have much in common . At the Randy H . Lee American Inn of Court , we have six program meetings each year , beginning with a 30-minute social time ; a dinner providing opportunities for more conversation ; brief remarks by the Inn ’ s President and an opportunity to recognize new members or for members to introduce any guests they have brought ; and a onehour continuing legal education program created and presented by one of the six pupillage teams . The topics have been diverse , but each year generally includes ethics and professionalism , elimination of bias , state and local practice issues , and , as a traditional conclusion , a friendly and spirited game of “ Legal Jeopardy ” that covers a variety of subject areas .
The American Inns of Court have their historical roots in the four Inns of Court in London , “ which have for centuries been the bodies responsible for calling would-be barristers to the Bar of England and Wales .” HIS HONOUR ERIC STOCKDALE & JUSTICE RANDY J . HOLLAND , MIDDLE TEMPLE LAWYERS AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1 ( 2007 ). In the United States , the idea of having “ American Inns of Court ” emerged from discussions in the late 1970s among members of the Anglo-American Exchange of Lawyers and Judges , including Chief Justice of the United States Warren E . Burger and Judge J . Clifford Wallace of the U . S . Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit . By the mid- 1980s , coinciding with other initiatives to promote greater professionalism and civility in the practice of law , American Inns chapters had been created in multiple states throughout the country . Today , there are nearly 400 chartered American Inns of Court in 48 states , the District of Columbia , Guam , and Tokyo ; and these chapters include more than 30,000 active members .
Since joining The Randy H . Lee American Inn of Court as a Master in 2013 , I have greatly enjoyed the special fellowship that exists there among members of the Greater Grand Forks legal community . As a teacher of legal ethics who believes deeply in the importance of professional identity formation in law schools , it has been rewarding to encourage our law students each year to participate as pupils , and to see them engaging in the many activities and discussions that occur throughout the year of their membership . It has been especially meaningful to me to see those students return to the Inn as associate members after they have graduated and become licensed lawyers in our legal community . And finally , I am continually grateful for the example and inspiration that great teachers and lawyers such as our Inn ’ s namesake , Professor Randy H . Lee , have provided to us . The best of the North Dakota Bar ’ s values and traditions endure within its American Inns of Court , and their perseverance through challenges of the present and the future depend on the kinds of lessons about lawyering that are learned through the relationships formed and strengthened there . These resilient bonds within the bar are themselves very good reasons to have hope for the continued flourishing of the North Dakota legal profession in the years to come .
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