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58 S. C. L. Rev. 369 (2006-2007)
Warren E. Burger Prize - Forward

handle is hein.journals/sclr58 and id is 377 raw text is: WARREN E. BURGER PRIZE FOREWARD WALTER F. PRATT, JR.* Chief Justice Burger would be quite pleased with this year's prize-winning essay. Of course, he would be delighted to have the continuing link between his name and the American Inns of Court. All of us who were privileged to work with Chief Justice Burger knew of his abiding interest in the links between the English and the American legal systems. In particular, we knew of his enduring desire to foster the highest standards ofprofessionalism in all who practiced before American courts. He believed strongly that the best way to insure continuity in those standards was through personal contact between senior and junior members of the bar. The English inns of court provided an ideal model-a setting where junior members of the bar could learn through friendship with senior members. This year's essay draws on concepts of professionalism to examine an issue confronting not only the legal profession but also the medical profession. In doing so, the author exemplifies the rigorous inquiry that Chief Justice Burger would admire, even demand, in the search for an answer that preserves the standards embodied in the inns of court on both sides of the Atlantic. This essay is therefore an entirely fitting addition to the list of winners of the Warren E. Burger Prize. * Dean, Educational Foundation Distinguished Professor of Law, University of South Carolina School of Law. Dean Pratt clerked for Chief Justice Burger from 1978 to 1979.