In honor and recognition of the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Inns of Court is holding a program contest!

Please join in celebrating this milestone anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and its relationship to the law and start planning your program today!

How to participate in the Semiquincentennial Program Contest: 

1.    Consider this prompt when developing your program:

How is the Declaration of Independence relevant to today’s legal profession and the American Inns of Court’s mission “[to] inspire the legal community to advance the rule of law by achieving the highest level of professionalism through example, education, and mentoring?”

2.    Present your thematic program prior to April 30, 2026.

3.    Submit a summary of your program (including documentation) through our online portal no later than April 30, 2026. 

Note: This program can be one of your monthly Inn meeting programs—it does not need to be an extra program. Also, if your Inn participates in Achieving Excellence, the program may be counted toward one of your Inn’s Achieving Excellence program submissions.

Additional considerations:

Every Inn can approach this contest with creativity and engagement.

  • How are you getting your members to pay attention?
  • Has the Inn featured a captivating and impassioned speaker?
  • Have you engaged all levels of membership? 
  • Has your pupillage team been highly involved?
  • Is there audience participation?
Judging Criteria

Criterion Weighted
Percentage 		 Explanation 
Educational Value  30%   What were the learning outcomes of the program?
 Well-Researched 25%   Was it clearly based on the factual research? Were these materials included in the submission?
 Creativity 20%   Was there an interesting "take" on the assignment? Did they approach it in an interesting way?
 Engagement 20%   How many Inn members were involved in planning? How did they include the audience during the program? Was there interaction?
 Effort 5%   Was it clear that an effort had been made in organizing the content?


We hope that all Inns will participate! Regardless of Inn size, resources or member talents, all Inns can create and present an educational and well-researched program.

We look forward to receiving your program submissions!

Questions? Contact your director of chapter relations today!