Charles Peregrine Courtenay, 19th Earl of Devon''Burke's Peerage'', Baronetage & Knightage, 107th Edition, edited by Charles Mosley, Wilmington, Delaware, 2003, vol I, pp. 1121–6; (born 14 August 1975), styled as Lord Courtenay from 1998 until 2015, is an English

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsidi ...

and

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

. He is a

crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

, having been elected at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...

in 2018.

Education and career

The 19th Earl of Devon was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

. After obtaining an MA degree from

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, in 1997, he followed his legal studies at the

Inns of Court School of Law The City Law School is one of the five schools of City, University of London. In 2001, the Inns of Court School of Law became part of City, and is now known as the City Law School. Until 1997, the ICSL had a monopoly on the provision of the Bar ...

. Courtenay was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1999, and to the California State Bar in 2004.

Personal life

He married the American actress

A. J. Langer Allison Joy Courtenay (née Langer, born May 22, 1974) commonly known as A. J. Langer, is a retired American actress andsince 2015the Countess of Devon. She is most known for playing Caroline Larkin in season 2 of Baywatch and as Rayanne Graff o ...

in a civil ceremony in 2004. A formal wedding later took place on 30 April 2005, in Los Angeles. With his father's death, the former Lord Courtenay succeeded to his father's

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

and estate. The Earl and Countess of Devon have two children, both born in Los Angeles: * Lady Joscelyn Skye Courtenay (born 31 January 2007) * Jack Haydon Langer Courtenay, Lord Courtenay (born 16 August 2009) Courtenay practised law with the firm of

Latham & Watkins Latham & Watkins LLP is an American multinational law firm. Founded in 1934 in Los Angeles, California, Latham is the second-largest law firm in the world by revenue. As of 2021, Latham is also one of the most profitable law firms in the world ...

from 2005 to 2018, starting at their Los Angeles, California office. In January 2014, he permanently relocated his family to London and transferred to his firm's London office. In January 2019, he joined the Exeter firm Michelmores as a partner. He and his family now reside at the family's ancestral home of

Powderham Castle Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house situated within the parish and former manor of Powderham, within the former hundred of Exminster, Devon, about south of the city of Exeter and mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of ...

in Devon, England.

Ancestry

References

1975 births Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge British emigrants to the United States People educated at Eton College California lawyers Crossbench hereditary peers Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act Living people Members of the Inner Temple

Charles Courtenay, 19th Earl of Devon Charles Peregrine Courtenay, 19th Earl of Devon''Burke's Peerage'', Baronetage & Knightage, 107th Edition, edited by Charles Mosley, Wilmington, Delaware, 2003, vol I, pp. 1121–6; (born 14 August 1975), styled as Lord Courtenay from 1998 unti ...

Earls of Devon (1553 creation) People associated with Latham & Watkins English barristers {{UK-law-bio-stub