A reader in one of the Inns of Court in London was originally a senior barrister of the Inn who was elected to deliver a lecture or series of lectures on a particular legal topic.[1][2] Two readers (known as Lent and Autumn Readers) would be elected annually to serve a one-year term.
Lincoln's Inn became formally organised as a place of legal education thanks to a decree in 1464, which required a reader to give lectures to the law students there.[3]
By 1569, at Gray's Inn, there had been readers for more than a century. Before the rise of the benchers, they formed the governing body of the inn.[2]
References
- "Inner Temple Admissions Database: Glossary". The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
- Simpson, A.W.B. (1975). "The Early Constitution of Gray's Inn". Cambridge Law Journal. 34 (1). Cambridge University Press: 138–139. doi:10.1017/S0008197300092102. ISSN 0008-1973.
- Ringrose, Hyacinthe (1909). The Inns of Court An Historical Description. Oxford: R.L. Williams. p. 81. OCLC 60732875.