ABA will bring lawyers to the UK to celebrate historic 1924 visit
In 1924, J. Carroll Hayes penned a detailed account of “a most unique occurrence in the legal world”—the first ABA visit to the United Kingdom. This fall, the International Law Section will commemorate this historic meeting of the minds with “100 Years of the ABA in the United Kingdom: Tradition, Innovation and Influence.” (Image from Shutterstock)
In 1924, J. Carroll Hayes penned a detailed account of “a most unique occurrence in the legal world”—the first ABA visit to the United Kingdom.
“The visit, lasting a full week, gave us American lawyers an opportunity, under the best possible auspices, to study the English legal system at first hand, and to become acquainted with many of its judges and leading practitioners,” wrote Hayes, an ABA member from West Chester, Pennsylvania, who noted three large ships transported the lawyers and their families across the Atlantic Ocean.
“It gave us a splendid opportunity and stimulus for the comparative study and weighing of the judicial and social systems of the two countries. As iron sharpeneth iron, so this intimate contact of minds, this friendly comparison of ideas and ideals cannot but bring about fruitful results in the future relations of the great English-speaking countries.”
This fall, the International Law Section will commemorate this historic meeting of the minds with “100 Years of the ABA in the United Kingdom: Tradition, Innovation and Influence.” The conference, which runs from Nov. 13-15 at the Inner Temple and Middle Temple in London, will address business law, competition, dispute resolution, intellectual property, legal ethics, practice of law, private wealth management and trade/sanctions.
Inner Temple Hall was rebuilt after World War II. Magna Carta negotiations took place at the Temple in 1215. (Photo by Paul Clark)“The centenary will naturally look back at Anglo-American legal experiences that shape current practices,” says Jeffrey Golden, a former chair of the International Law Section who is helping to plan the conference. “At the same time, we will be gazing ahead, asking how we preserve our status as a ‘learned profession,’ what innovations can improve our ethics and diversity, and which steps will ensure we continue to attract the best and the brightest to the law.”
Jeffrey Golden, a former chair of the International Law Section, helped plan the conference.Golden came across Hayes’ essay and other materials from the ABA’s 1924 visit to London. They describe an opening meeting at Westminster Hall with the entire British judiciary, lavish banquets at the Inns of Court and a garden party hosted by King George V and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace.
They also mention notable attendees, including Charles Evan Hughes, who was then president of the ABA and U.S. secretary of state, and George Sutherland, a U.S. Supreme Court justice. James Aikins, the lieutenant governor of Manitoba and president of the Canadian Bar Association, co-hosted the meeting with a delegation from Canada.
“It was a celebration of lawyering as a profession, not just a business, but a profession, and of common law as something special,” says Golden, a London-based U.S. attorney who was appointed honorary queen’s counsel by Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. Upon her death, he became honorary king’s counsel with 3 Hare Court Chambers.
Yee Wah Chin is the chair of the International Law Section. (Photo by Darren Carroll)Yee Wah Chin, an antitrust lawyer in New York City and the chair of the International Law Section, was struck by the lawyers’ celebration of both their commonalities and differences in 1924.
“That’s going to come out in the programming we have arranged this time,” Chin says. “We come from this tradition, but in addressing some common issues of law, we may have somewhat different ways of resolving the challenges. These are still very much two common law systems, but nonetheless, we have significant differences.”
The conference’s opening plenary is “Back to the Future: The Special Roles Played by the American Law Institute and the Law Commission in the Development of the Common Law.” United Kingdom Supreme Court Justice David Lloyd-Jones serves as moderator. American Law Institute director Diane Wood, who previously was chief judge of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago, is one of the speakers.
The Rev. Robin Griffith-Jones, master of the temple at Temple Church in London, will moderate a panel. (Photo provided by Robin Griffith-Jones)Among other programs, past ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross and the Rev. Robin Griffith-Jones, who is master of the temple at the Temple Church in London, will moderate “Civics, Civility and Collaboration: Ensuring an Ethical and Diverse Legal Profession for the Next 100 Years.” Senior Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn of the Northern District of Texas, who is the immediate past president of the American Inns of Court, will speak on the panel.
The closing plenary, “Navigating the Legal Frontier: Comparative Approaches to Emerging Areas of Law in the US, UK and Elsewhere,” will delve into how different jurisdictions handle cryptocurrency, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. John Thomas, the president of the Qatar International Court and former lord chief justice of England and Wales, will moderate the discussion.
“We’re going to close the conference by looking very much to nowadays, the developing issues, and trying to project into the future on these two sides of the pond how we approach these fairly new challenges,” Chin says.
Chin, who was impressed by the elaborate social agenda during the ABA’s 1924 visit, adds that attendees of this year’s conference also can partake in festive outings.
Middle Temple Hall dates back to 1573. Griffith-Jones says six members of Inner/Middle Temple signed the Declaration of Independence, and seven signed the Constitution. (Photo provided by Robin Griffith-Jones)This includes a closing reception at the Winfield House, the official residence of Jane Hartley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It also features a day trip to Windsor Castle and a tour of Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was signed. The ABA erected its Magna Carta Memorial here in 1957.
“We’re certainly celebrating ABA history, and based on the reaction we’ve been getting from, in my case, people on this side of the pond, the Brits are very excited about being part of it,” Golden says. “None of us are sure we’re going to be around for the next centenary, so this is our one shot at this.”
Early bird registration for the conference ends Oct. 1. For the full agenda and other details, visit the 2024 International Law Section Fall Conference website.
