Love Litigating Lawyers Day – August 31, 2024

History of Love Litigating Lawyers Day

While legal systems were established a long time ago, the legal profession as we know it is a modern invention. The only known legal specialist was the judge, and he was technically a part-time specialist. In earlier times, only the kings, chiefs, or princes of societies dispensed justice.

The origins of law and lawyers (again, not the modern version) show up in Greek history. Ancient Greeks had orators who would plead a case for friends. At that time, only individuals or their friends could plead their cases. Also, these orators were not allowed to charge for their services. While literature shows evidence that this law was broken multiple times, the law itself was not abolished, making the lawyer trade an informal profession.

In ancient Rome, the case was much the same — ‘lawyers’ practiced, but could not officially charge their clients. This continued until Emperor Claudius (August 1, 10 B.C. to October 13, 54 A.D.) abolished this law and legalized the legal system. Now, people could charge a fee of up to 10,000 sesterces, an ancient Roman currency, for their services. However, this fee was considered to be too little pay, and lawyers were not able to sustain a living with it. Historians attribute much of the development of the early legal system to the Ancient Romans. The legal profession had collapsed by the time the medieval period rolled around. A resurgence saw many lawyers work with the church exclusively.

When British colonies settled in America, the people did not warm up to the idea of lawyers. Some colonies even outlawed this profession, and in places where lawyers were allowed to practice, their work and fees were strictly regulated. However, there was usually no special training or requirements for people to become lawyers. This situation changed in 1761. This year, the Bill of Rights was ratified, and this gave people in the U.S. the right to legal representation. Soon after, lawyers were required to have at least seven years of training before they could practice law. A code of professional ethics followed, and gradually, the negative perception that dogged this occupation began to change. Over the next decade, many small law schools were set up by lawyers across the U.S. The very first law degree, the Bachelor of Law, was granted by the College of William and Mary in 1793. This degree was called an L.B., and it eventually became an L.L.B. Law schools like these paved the way for future lawyers to get an education easily.