The Council of Legal Education (CLE) was an English supervisory body established by the four

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

to regulate and improve the legal education of barristers within England and Wales.

History

The Council was established in 1852 by the Inns of Court and originally consisted of eight members led by Richard Bethell, with two members coming from each Inn. The Council supervised the education of students at the Inns of Court, and initially established five professorships. Professors would lecture students at the Inns, who were required to attend a certain number of lectures to be called to the Bar. In 1872 membership of the Council was expanded to twenty and mandatory examinations for the call to the Bar were introduced. The creation of the Senate of the Inns of Court and the Bar in 1967 pushed the Council into being a subdivision of that Senate rather than an independent organisation, and representatives of the Bar Council were added to the CLE. In 1997 the Council ceased to exist, transferring its assets to 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 ...

, its educational and training functions to the Inns of Court and Bar Educational Trust and its regulatory functions to the

General Council of the Bar The General Council of the Bar, commonly known as the Bar Council, is the representative body for barristers in England and Wales. Established in 1894, the Bar Council is the 'approved regulator' of barristers, but discharges its regulatory functi ...

References

{{Reflist Organizations established in 1852 Organizations disestablished in 1997 Professional education in London Bar of England and Wales 1852 establishments in England