Professional jurists are often inquisitive about the subject matter of their
calling and in the course of their careers may well develop fascinating
insights into the law and those who interpret it. Their employers, however,
be they governments, corporations, firms, or private clients, rarely show
similar enthusiasm for such insights unless the hours spent pondering the
social or historical significance of this or that legal view have a
contemporary value that justifies the lawyer's fee.Thankfully, other members of society are rewarded for mining the legal
records of the past. For legal historians, the search often focuses on the
changing legal ideas and how legal doctrine develops over time to meet the
changing needs of societies. Yet because the law generally deals with
concrete matters – again, because jurists are paid by people who are
unlikely to remunerate those who simply while away their hours making
up legal cases – it offers a reservoir of information that can be used, albeit
with caution, in fields other than just the history of the law.A partial reconstruction of the law of any given time and place is among
the more obvious historical uses of legal documents but statutes, practical
decisions, and even theoretical texts can be used to advance other forms
of the historical endeavour. Legal works often reflect the values both of
jurists and society-at-large, for while the law creates social values it is not
immune to changes in these very values.
Duty to Warn in the Emergency Department: Three Medical Legal Cases That Illustrate Providers’ Broad Risk and Liability
