American Inn of Court
Anthony M. Kennedy
The American Inns of Court movement was founded in 1980 at the urging of then-Chief Justice Warren Burger. Loosely modeled on its English counterpart, an American Inn of Court is a group of judges and attorneys (and, in some Inns, professors of law and law students) who meet periodically to discuss issues of interest to the legal community, emphasizing professionalism, ethics and civility in the practice of law. Collegiality is another benefit of the Inn of Court, which provides members the opportunity to become acquainted with prominent local attorneys and judges.
The Anthony M. Kennedy American Inn of Court was established in 1988 by United States Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Senior United States District Court Judge Milton Schwartz, and University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law Dean Gordon Schaber. It became the 48th American Inn of Court, in a movement that now has grown to over 300 Inns nationwide.
The Kennedy Inn is composed of Masters of the Bench (senior attorneys, law professors and judges), Barristers (attorneys with 10 to 20 years of experience), Associates (lawyers with up to 10 years of practice), Law Student Associates (3rd year students at Pacific McGeorge), and Emeriti Benchers (past active Masters of the Bench who now participate when they are able to do so).
Members are divided into teams, with each team having the responsibility of presenting an educational program in a designated month. The program format generally includes skits performed by the team, followed by open discussion in which all Inn members are encouraged to participate, facilitated by the team's program moderator. Teams also have monthly luncheon or breakfast meetings for the purpose of preparing their programs, getting to know each other on a personal as well as professional basis, and mentoring.
The Kennedy Inn meets each month, September through November and January through May, on the campus of Pacific McGeorge. After dinner in the Student Center, the monthly program is held in the courtroom of the law school's Center for Legal Advocacy.
In each of the past five years, the American Inns of Court Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia has presented an award to the Anthony M. Kennedy American Inn of Court, honoring the Inn for having presented one of the top ten programs in the nation.
