News & Blog

By Alexis Lindsay, Inn Secretary

The first meeting of the year for the John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court took place on Wednesday, September 17^th at the Bar Conference Center. Our local Inn is modeled off of London’s Inns of Court, and its purpose is to foster excellence in professionalism, ethics, civility, and legal skills. The Inn’s membership is comprised of judges, law professors, practicing attorneys, and law students. We have six meetings per year, and this first meeting was titled “The Future of the Legal Profession on Both Sides of the Atlantic.” Tina Cundari, this year’s Inn president, opened the meeting and welcomed the student members, who are third year law students at the USC Law School. After being introduced by USC Law School Professor Martin McWilliams, Sir Stephen Silber, Treasurer of Gray’s Inn in London, spoke about several challenges currently facing the legal profession in England, including the increasingly competitive legal job market and the growing income gap between corporate lawyers and government-funded lawyers. Next, Cal Watson, president of the South Carolina Bar Association, and Leah Johnson from the South Carolina Bar spoke about issues facing lawyers in our state, including an increase in the use of technology and the population shift out of more rural areas. Finally, USC Law School Dean Robert Wilcox spoke about the concept of a national bar and the potential impact on legal education. This first Inn meeting was informative, thought provoking, and a great start to the year.

 To learn more about the American Inns of Court and the John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court, click on this link: http://www.innsofcourt.org/inns/jboneallinn