Lawyers and Judges Utilizing History: A Multifaceted Tool for the Profession, 1840–1960

Abstract

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, lawyers and judges used history for various purposes. Their works reflected the trends in historical treatments done by historians but was produced for instrumental ends. They drew upon history in their work of making the law and in shaping the profession. Lawyers and judges used history to justify existing law, to bolster calls for change in the law, to provide a defense against critique of the profession, or to provide a shining example for the profession to emulate. This long view of the use of law by the legal profession contextualizes the much-commented phenomena of law office history, which has proved a subject of a contention between the professions of law and history.

Citation

Hamm, R.F. (2020), "Lawyers and Judges Utilizing History: A Multifaceted Tool for the Profession, 1840–1960", Sarat, A. (Ed.) Studies in Law, Politics, and Society (Studies in Law, Politics, and Society, Vol. 83), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1059-433720200000083002