Sarah A. Sadlier
2025 Temple Bar Scholar
The Temple Bar Scholarship was nothing short of transformative. Our hosts embraced us with humor, grace, and generosity. Over many a meal and flat white, they shared their insights about the similarities and discrepancies between the U.K. and U.S. legal systems.
In our first week, we met with the Lady Chief Justice, the President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and the Master of the Rolls, among other leaders of legal London. We toured the Royal Courts of Justice, Temple Church, the Old Bailey, and the four inns. Lectures of luminaries like the Reverend and Valiant Master of the Temple enlivened the art, history, and tradition within their walls. Their grandeur was surpassed only by the “Opening of the Legal Year” at Westminster Abbey. As we savored the scenery, we endeavored to decipher the significance of the wigs and robes in the processing parties. Still, our more intimate meetings were just as meaningful. The inn dining halls were a frequent site for fostering connections. And the folks at 33 Bedford Row treated us to a proper afternoon tea, where we delightfully discovered that “biscuit” was, in fact, the British term for “cookie.”
We spent our second and third weeks in barristers’ chambers. My mini-pupillages were at Blackstone Chambers and 7 King’s Bench Walk. There, mentors introduced me to an array of matters involving badger culling, airline insurance, human rights, and shipwreck salvage. Beyond learning about charismatic English animals and centuries-old sunken treasure, I gained comparative perspective into the United Kingdom’s use of self-employed barristers to supply legal advice and to litigate before the U.K. Supreme Court. I engaged with practitioners who sat on the Attorney General’s panel, making them the counterparts to my position as an Attorney-Adviser at the U.S. Office of Legal Counsel. And I had the fortune to watch “Treasury Devil” Sir James Eadie KC argue before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. As the government’s lead barrister in its high-profile public law cases, he occupied a role akin to the U.S. Solicitor General, for whom I worked as a Bristow Fellow.
Finally, we headed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. I shadowed future Deputy President, Lord Philip Sales. A public lawyer by training, he served as Treasury Devil before his tenure as a Justice. Over dinner at the House of Lords, we discussed the differences in argument preparation for the Treasury Devil and the U.S. Solicitor General. Whereas arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court are several hours at most, cases before the U.K. Supreme Court can span several days. For example, the scholars observed a three-day argument in an original jurisdiction case arising as an ab ante challenge out of Scotland and Northern Ireland. We also reviewed petitions for appeal that the Court was considering with the judicial assistants, the equivalents of judicial clerks in the United States.
Our tight-knit cohort ventured outside of legal London, as well. Memorable excursions included attending Evensong at Westminster Abbey, visiting the Marie Antoinette Style exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Musuem, watching eight West End productions, walking through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, catching Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at the Globe Theatre, and seeing Puccini’s Tosca at the Royal Ballet and Opera.
None of our adventures would have been possible without the indefatigable Cindy Dennis, coordinator extraordinaire. Thank you to Cindy, LTG Joseph B. Berger III, USA (Ret.), Judge Consuelo M. Callahan, COMBAR, and the American Inns of Court for planning an unparalleled experience.