Welcome to the Benjamin Aranda III American Inn of
Court in Redondo Beach, California!
The Honorable Benjamin Aranda III Inn of Court is the 237th chartered member of the American Inns of Court. It was originally chartered as the South Bay Inn of Court.
Benjamin Aranda II, a well-known and respected South Bay Municipal Court Judge initiated the idea to organize a local Inn of Court. He contacted lawyers and judges to set up an organizing committee which resulted in the issuance of an AIC charter in 1994. Ben served as the first President and actively participated in the Inn until his sudden and unexpected death in January 1998, after which the Board renamed the Inn in his memory. ben served as a member of the Judicial Council of California and was the founding Chair of the Access and Fairness Advisory Committee of the Judicial Council of California. The Annual Access to Justice Award, sponsored by the Judicial Council of California, California State Bar Association, and California Judges Associate is also named in his memory.
The AIC Concept
American Inns of Court are designed to improve the skills, professionalism, and ethics of the bench and bar. An American Inn of Court is an amalgam of judges, lawyers, and law students that meets approximately once a month to "break bread", to hold programs and discussions on matters of civility, ethics, skills, and professionalism. This is a new way to help lawyers and judges rise to higher levels of excellence, professionalism, and ethical awareness. The American Inns of Court adopted the traditional English model of legal apprenticeship and modified it to fit the particular need of the American legal system.
American Inns of Court help lawyers to become more effective advocates and counselors with a keener ethical awareness. Members learn side-by-side with the most experienced judges and attorneys in their community. We are not a fraternal order, a social club, a course in continuing legal education, a lecture series, an apprenticeship system, or an adjunct of a law school's program. While an AIC partakes of some of each of these concepts, it is quite different in aim, scope, and effect.
For law students and young attorneys, American Inns of Court is an opportunity to learn about the practice of law in a tight-knit, social group of experienced lawyers and judges, all working together to elevate the legal profession. For experienced attorneys and judges, AIC is an opportunity for focused learning and interaction with members of your local community.
History of the Inns
The American Inns of Court concept was the product of a discussion in the late 1970s among prominent lawyers and judges, including Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit J. Clifford Wallace.
The first American of Court was founded in 1980 in the Provo/Salt Lake City area Utah and included law students from Brigham Young University. Within the next three years, additional American Inns formed in Utah, Mississippi, Hawaii, New York, and Washington, D.C. In 1983, Chief Justice Burger created a committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States to explore whether the American Inn concept was of value to the administration justice and, if so, whether there should be a national organization to promote, establish, and assist American Inns, and promote the goals of legal excellence, civility, professionalism and ethics on a national level.
The committee reported affirmatively on the two questions and proposed the creation of the American inns of Court Foundation. The Judicial Conference approved the report and endorsed the American inn concept. In 1985, the AIC Foundation was formally organized. Currently, the AIC has over 25,000 members throughout the United States.
The Honorable Benjamin Aranda III Inn Members
American Inns of Court actively involve more than 20,000 state, federal, and administrative law judges, attorneys, legal scholars, and third-year law students. Membership is composed of the following categories:
- Masters - judges, experienced lawyers, and law professors
- Barristers - lawyers with experience but do not meet the minimum requirements for Masters;
- Associates - lawyers who do not meet the minimum requirement for barristers; and
- Pupils - third-year law students
Pupillage Groups
Our membership is divided into "pupilage teams" with each team consisting of a few members from each membership category. Pupilage team members get together informally outside of monthly Inn meetings in groups of two or more. This allows less-experienced attorneys to become more effective advocates and counselors by learning from the more-experienced attorneys and judges.
Information about attending a meeting
Please contact any of the officers of our Inn to get information on how to attend a meeting.
Click here to view the Pupilage Groups and Presentation Dates for the 2021-2022 Season.
The Honorable Benjamin Aranda III Inn of Court is the 237th chartered member of the American Inns of Court. It was originally chartered as the South Bay Inn of Court.
Benjamin Aranda II, a well-known and respected South Bay Municipal Court Judge initiated the idea to organize a local INn of Court. He contacted lawyers and judges to set up an organizing committee which resulted in the issuance of a AIC charter in 1994. Ben served as the first President and actively participated in the Inn until his sudden and unexpected death in January 1998, after which the Board renamed the Inn in his memore. ben served as a member of the Judicial Council of California and was the founding Chair of the Access and Fairness Advisory Committee of the Judicial Council of California. The Annual Access to Justice Award, sponsored by the Judicial Council of California, California State Bar Association, and California Judges Associate is also named in his memory.
The AIC Concept
American Inns of Court are designed to improve the skills, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar. An American Inn of Court is an amalgm of judges, lawyers, and law students that meets approximately once a month to "break bread", to hold programs and discussions on matters of civility, ethics, skills and professionalism. This is a new way to help lawyers and judges rise to higher levels of excellence, professionalism, and ethical awareness. The American Inns of Court adopted the traditional English model of legal apprenticeship and modified it to fit the particular need ot the American legal system.
American Inns of Court help lawyers to become more effective advocates and counselors with a keener ethical awareness. Members learn side-by-side with the most experienced judges and attorneys in their community. We are not a fraternal order, a social club, a course in continuing legal education, a lecture series, an apprenticeship system, or an adjunct of a law school's program. While an AIC partakes of some of each of these concepts, it is quite different in aim, scope and effect.
For law students and young attorneys, American Inns of Court is an opportunity to learn about the practice of law in a tight-knit, social group of experience lawyers and judges, all working together to elevate the legal profession. For experienced attorneys and judges, AIC is an opportunity for focused learning and interaction with members of your local community.
History of the Inns
The American Inns of Court concept was the product of a discussion in the late 1970's among prominent lawyers and judges, including Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit J. Clifford Wallace.
The first American of Court was founded in 1980 in the Provo/Salt Lake City area Utah, and included law students from Brigham Young University. Within the next three years, additional American Inns formed in Utah, Mississippi, Hawaii, New York, and Washington, D.C. In 1983, Chief Justice Burger created a committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States to explore whether the American Inn concept was of value to the adminitration justice and, if so, whether there should be a national organization to promote, establish, and assist American Inns, and rpomote the goals of legal excellence, civility, professionalism and ethics on a national level.
The committee reported affirmatively on the two questions and proposed the creation of the American inns of Court Foundation. The Judicial Conference approved the report and endorsed the American inn concept. In 1985, the AIC Foundation was formally organized. Currently the AIC has over 25,000 members throught the United States.
The Honorable Benjamin Aranda III Inn Members
American Inns of Court actively involve more than 20,000 state, federal, and administrative law judges, attorneys, legal scholars and third year law students. Membership is composed of the following categories:
- Masters - judges, experience lawyers and law professors
- Barristers - lawyers with experience but do not meet the minimum requirements for Masters;
- Associates - lawyers who do not meet the minimum requirement for barristers; and
- Pupils - third-year law students
Pupillage Groups
Our membership is divided into "pupilage teams" with each team consisting of a few members from each membership category. Pupilage team members get together informally outside of monthly Inn meetings in groups of two or more. This allows less-experienced attorneys to become more effective advocates and counselors by learning from the more-experienced attorneys and judges.
Information about attending a meeting
Please contact any of the officers of our Inn to get information on how to attend a meeting.
Click here to view the Pupilage Groups and Presentation Dates for the 2015-2016 Season.