November 24, 2025

This year marks our Silver Anniversary. Over the past 25 years we survived Y2K, a major economic recession, a global pandemic, and several venue changes. But, along the way we also learned, taught, became inspired, and laughed - - a lot. Friendships, both personal and professional, were forged. The next 25 years should prove no differently.

The Wray Ladine American Inn of Court is the Stanislaus County Chapter of a national organization of bench and bar members striving to achieve greater ethics and civility in the practice of law. This Inn is comprised of prominent judges, lawyers, and law students, representing every level of experience and every practice area. The available resources are staggering.

The membership is divided into 6 teams who present a program at the monthly meetings. The programs tackle issues facing the legal community and focus on the Inn’s goal of promoting greater professionalism. Meetings take place monthly between September and April, usually lasting about two hours.

Over the course of those two hours, members enjoy a dedicated social time, a catered dinner, and the team program which always leads to a spirited discussion. An hour of coveted MCLE credit is also earned.

Why do teams put on a program? The individual team meetings are where new attorneys informally meet with experienced attorneys/judges, and where each gets a chance to learn skills from the other. It breaks down hierarchies, allows for the free exchange of ideas, and promotes mentoring as the entire team works towards a shared goal.

The Wray Ladine American Inn of Court has received national recognition for its programs. There are nearly 400 Inns scattered across 48 states, Washington DC, Guam, and Tokyo. If you consider that each Inn puts on 6 programs, this equates to approximately 2,400 programs presented annually. This past year, our Inn placed two of its programs in the Top 25 most
downloaded programs in the world. Past programs have also received national “Best Program” awards. Each year our Executive Board is invited to an “Inns of Distinction” Gala at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC, to receive official recognition of our Platinum level status.

This is the Wray!