Middle Temple Lawyers and the American Revolution

Middle Temple Lawyers and the American Revolution approaches the influence of the Middle Temple on the United States from three angles. It first describes the participation of Middle Temple-educated lawyers in crucial events leading up to and through the American Revolution. Next, drawing on personal and often humorous transatlantic correspondence, the authors dissect the formative experiences of the American colonists who studied at the Middle Temple in London during the 18th Century. Finally, the authors set forth the stories of distinguished and notable colonial families that benefited from a Middle Temple education.

Eric Stockdale practiced as a barrister from chambers in the Temple for twenty-two years, before serving for another twenty-two as a Circuit judge in Hertfordshire. He has a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, has qualified as a member of the California Bar, is a Bachelor of the Middle Temple and a Visiting Professor at the University of Hertfordshire. Judge Stockdale s last book, partly inspired by the eighteenth-century American links with that Inn of Court, was Tis Treason, My Good Man! Four Revolutionary Presidents and a Piccadilly Bookshop (Oak Knoll Press, Delaware and the British Library, 2005). He is currently on of a team of authors working on the official history of the Middle Temple, to be published in 2010. Randy J. Holland presently serves on the Delaware Supreme Court. Prior to his appointment and confirmation in 1986, Justice Holland was in private practice. He is the past national President of the American Inns of Court. Justice Holland was elected to be an Honorary Master of the Bench by Lincoln s Inn in London. He has published several books: The Delaware Constitution: A Reference Guide (Greenwood Press, 2002); Delaware Supreme Court: Golden Anniversary, 2001, co-editor; The Delaware Constitution of 1897 The First One Hundred Years, co-editor; and is co-editor of a law school casebook: Appellate Practice and Procedure (Thomson West, 2005).