A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...

. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can be elected while still a barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

 (usually, but not always, Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

), in recognition of the contribution that the barrister has made to the life of the Inn or to the law. Others become benchers as a matter of course when appointed as a High Court Judge

High Court judge

A High Court judge is a judge of the High Court of Justice, and represents the third highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales. High Court judges are referred to as puisne judges...

. The Inn may elect non-members as honorary benchers - for example, distinguished judges and lawyers from other countries, eminent non-lawyers or members of the British Royal Family

British Royal Family

The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...

, who become known as "Royal Benchers" once elected.

The most senior bencher of each Inn is the Treasurer

Treasurer

A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...

, a position which is held for one year only. While succession to the post of Treasurer may once have been dependent purely on seniority, this is no longer the case. The Treasurer is elected.

Etymology

Historically, the most junior student barristers were only permitted to watch moot court

Moot court

A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term derives from Anglo Saxon times, when a moot was a gathering of prominent men in a...

 trials and stood within the bar

Handrail

A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide stability or support. Handrails are commonly used while ascending or descending stairways and escalators in order to prevent injurious falls. Other applications include bathroom handrails—which help to prevent falls on...

 of the moot courtroom. More qualified barristers (known as "outer" or "utter" barristers) were permitted to join the argument and stood outside of the bar. The most senior barristers were permitted to sit on the bench at moots. This third class of barristers became known as "Benchers" or "Masters of the Bench".

Powers and duties

The practices and regulations vary from Inn to Inn, but the benchers are the ultimate governing body of the relevant Inn. The benchers govern the finances of the Inn, and they alone have the authority to admit students to the Bar, to call students to the Bar

Call to the bar

The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...

, and to elect other benchers. Today, the benchers of the four Inns have common standards agreed with the Bar Council

Bar council

A bar council , in a Commonwealth country and in the Republic of Ireland, the Bar Council of Ireland is a professional body that regulates the profession of barristers together with the King's Inns. Solicitors are generally regulated by the Law society....

. They have the power to discipline members of their Inn by suspending or expelling them from membership of the Inn, and by disbarring or disbenching them. Disciplinary duties are now shared with the Council of the Inns of Court, the Bar Standards Board

Bar Standards Board

The Bar Standards Board regulates admission to the Bar for barristers in England and Wales. In addition, it responds to complaints from the public regarding behavior and adequacy of representation by members of the Bar and conducts disciplinary proceedings. The most serious of these are conducted...

 and its Complaints Committee (formerly known as the Professional Conduct and Complaints Committee).

Canadian usage

The terms "bencher" and "treasurer" originated in England, but they are also in use by the legal profession in Canada

Law of Canada

The Canadian legal system has its foundation in the British common law system, inherited from being a former colony of the United Kingdom and later a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Quebec, however, still retains a civil system for issues of private law...

, for example by the Law Society of Upper Canada

Law Society of Upper Canada

The Law Society of Upper Canada is responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1797, it is known in French as "Le Barreau du Haut-Canada"...

 and the Law Society of British Columbia.

External links

• Legal profession to 1850 from Inner Temple
  Inner Temple
  The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
  
  
• Benchers at Lincoln's Inn
  Lincoln's Inn
  The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...