Serjeant of the Inn

The Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court and the other Inns of Court in the Dallas-Fort Worth area established the Serjeant of the Inn award in 2002. Each Inn selects one Serjeant of the Inn honoree annually from their own membership and the honorees are recognized at the Joint Meeting of the DFW Inns held each January.

The Serjeants of the Inn concept had its beginning in 13th Century England. The most distinguished members of the English Inns of Court were conferred the honor of the Degree: “Serjeants-at-Law” and joined a Serjeants Inn of Court. In later years the degree was similar in rank to knighthood. 

Candidates for Serjeant of the Inn from the DFW Inns must be a Master of the Bench in their Inn. They must have either significantly contributed to the profession and the community throughout their career; or must have made one or more significant contributions to the profession and the community which are deserving of recognition.

The past Serjeant of the Inn honorees from the Higginbotham Inn are an illustrious group. They are:

Hon. Patrick E. Higginbotham	Sylvia M. Demarest	Terrell W. Oxford
James E. Coleman, Jr.	James E. “Jim” Cowles	Harriet Miers
Hon. Merrill L. Hartman	Prof. Frederick C. Moss	Sherri T. Alexander
Hon. Barefoot Sanders	Nina Cortell	Kim J. Askew
Hon. Jay Patterson	Hon. Joseph B. Morris	Hon. Sam A. Lindsay
John A. Gilliam	Richard G. Stewart, Jr.	Hon. Sidney A. Fitzwater
	Robert Cohan	Barry Sorrels