Churchill Classic Briefcase

The Churchill is a full-grain leather briefcase in the frame-top tradition — the shape a lawyer's bag has held for most of a century, built by a workshop that has been building them for a good part of it.

The frame is the whole argument. Korchmar's patented Hinge-Loc holds the top open instead of letting it fall shut on your hand, which matters in the one moment a briefcase is usually opened: standing, one hand already occupied, finding something while somebody waits. A case you have to hold open is a case you open twice.

Inside, a sleeve takes a laptop up to 17 inches, expandable compartments hold the phone, tablet, and charger, and a slim exterior pocket keeps the document you intend to hand across the table separate from everything you don't. Two colorways, both with antiqued brass: tan, which is meant to look like it has been in service a while and will look more so with time; and black, the quieter of the two, the one that draws no attention to itself in front of a judge who has never once thought about counsel's briefcase.

This is the case that reads as inherited. In a chambers with a century on the letterhead, or across from Commonwealth counsel who would notice its absence, the Churchill is not a costume. It is the convention, correctly executed.

• Full-grain American leather, handcrafted in the Dominican Republic
• Patented Hinge-Loc™ frame stays open for one-handed access
• Expandable interior compartments for phone, tablet, and charger
• Laptop sleeve fits up to 17"
• Slim exterior pocket for documents
• Solid brass hardware, antiqued finish
• Matching leather strap key hook
• 18"L x 7"W x 13.5"H

Deciding between tradition and a cleaner line? Read The Churchill, or the Silk?

Built for the traditional frame-top silhouette and one-handed access, not for locking. For a structured case that closes on a brass key-lock, see our own The Silk.

See the rest of Bags & Briefcases.

Questions we get

Will it take a legal pad? Yes, lengthwise, which is how a pad goes into a briefcase anyway. The case is 18 inches across, so a 14-inch pad lies flat with four inches to spare, and the slim exterior pocket takes the one document you mean to hand across the table without opening the case at all.

Does it hold a 17-inch laptop? Yes, lengthwise. The machine goes in along the case's 18-inch span rather than across its 13.5-inch height, which is how a 17-inch body clears an interior that sounds smaller than it is. The sleeve is sized to 17 inches, which covers the largest machine most firms still issue, and the expandable compartments beside it take the phone, the tablet and the charger without pushing the case out of shape.

Does it stay open when your hands are full? Yes, and this is the reason to buy this particular briefcase rather than another. Korchmar's patented Hinge-Loc frame holds the top open instead of letting it fall shut on your hand — which matters in the one moment a briefcase is actually opened: standing, one hand already occupied, somebody waiting.

Is it the right briefcase for court? It is the convention, correctly executed. The frame-top silhouette is the shape a lawyer's bag has held for most of a century, and across from counsel who would notice its absence it reads as inherited rather than as a costume. If you would rather carry something that closes on a lock, that is a different argument, and we make it in The Churchill, or the Silk?

Tan or black? Black if you would rather nobody in the room thought about your briefcase at all. Tan if you want a case that looks like it has already been in service, because it will look more so every year. Both carry the same antiqued solid brass.

Who makes it, and is it guaranteed? Korchmar, a fourth-generation American workshop in business since 1917, in full-grain American leather handcrafted in the Dominican Republic. It carries Korchmar's five-year warranty against defects in materials and workmanship, and our own Thirty-Day Assurance for the first thirty days after delivery.

Barrister & Bespoke Curated Collection — hand-selected from Korchmar, an American leather workshop, for its craftsmanship and fit within our world. Curated pieces carry their maker's own identity rather than ours; our house collection, designed and branded exclusively for Barrister & Bespoke, is marked separately throughout the shop.

Warranty. This Product carries Korchmar's five-year warranty against defects in materials and workmanship, and Barrister & Bespoke's own Thirty-Day Assurance for the first thirty days after delivery. Full terms, including how to make a claim, are stated in our Warranty Policy.