The Potter Stewart Inn of Court helps lawyers and judges rise to higher levels of excellence, professionalism, and ethical awareness. 

Inns of Court are modeled after the traditional English version of legal apprenticeship, but modified to fit the particular needs of the American legal system. The Potter Stewart Inn meets once a month from September to May (except December) to network and hold CLE programs on matters of ethics, litigation skills and professionalism. Inn of Court programs are designed to help lawyers become more effective advocates and counselors, with a keener ethical awareness.

The Potter Stewart Inn includes five categories of members:

• Judiciary
  
• Masters of the Bench - attorneys with 15 or more years in practice
  
• Barristers - attorneys with 4-14 years in practice
• Associates - attorneys with 1-3 years in practice
  
• Pupils - third-year law students.    

Membership is further subdivided into “pupilage groups,” each of which is composed of several members from each membership category, and is responsible for conducting one program for the Inn each year. Pupilage groups convene outside of the monthly Inn meetings to prepare their presentations.

Here in Cincinnati, more than 100 attorneys and judges participate in the Potter Stewart Inn of Court – named for former U.S.  Supreme Court Justice and Queen City native Potter Stewart – each season. Members learn side-by-side with the most experienced judges and attorneys in the community.  The program includes a joint session with the Salmon P. Chase (Northern Kentucky) Inn each season, and culminates with final banquet in May, where the Andrew Dennison Courageous Advocate Award is presented to an attorney who “upholds the professional obligation to represent the poor, the unpopular or the friendless.”