ALI Council member and American Bar Association President William C. Hubbard has been appointed to the Bench as a Master of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in London. In addition to his roles at ALI and the ABA, Mr. Hubbard is a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.
The Middle Temple is one of the four Inns of Court in London exclusively entitled to call their student members to the English Bar as barristers. The Inn is governed by its Masters (also known as Benchers), who are elected from senior members of the bar and judiciary. Of the Inn’s roughly 600 Benchers, the majority are Queen's Counsel, senior barristers appointed by the Crown for their eminence as advocates.
Additional Honorary Benchers include Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. Past Middle Temple Benchers also include one of ALI's founders, William Howard Taft, and five signers of the Declaration of Independence.
“It is a distinct privilege and a highlight of my professional career to be honored by Middle Temple,” Hubbard told the ABA. “I have always had great admiration for the Inn and the work it does. I am profoundly grateful to my fellow Benchers for doing me this honor.”
The Middle Temple was founded in medieval times and its core purposes are still based on the principles set out in the Royal Charter of 1608:
- Education and training of students and barristers
- Promotion of diversity and access to the Bar through financial support and other means
- Achievement of the highest standards of advocacy in support of the judiciary and the rule of law
- Promotion of the ethos of the Bar
- Maintenance of the highest professional standards in the public interest
Mr. Hubbard was in London with 900 ABA members and guests for the association’s celebration of the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta. On Monday, Mr. Hubbard, along with Princess Anne, rededicated the ABA Memorial to Magna Carta in Runnymede, one of the events in a celebration attended by Queen Elizabeth, Prince William and Prime Minister Cameron.