The call to the bar of an
Inn was in effect a degree. To be an attorney one had to be
educated and certified at the Inns of Court. They practice law
full time. Some are employed by the King. Justices come to be
recruited from among those who had passed their lives practicing
law in court, instead of from the ecclesiastical orders. All
attorneys were brought under the control of the justices.
There are two types of attorney: one attorney appears in the place
of his principal, who does not appear. The appointment of this
attorney is an unusual and a solemn thing, only to be allowed on
special grounds and with the proper formalities. For instance, a
poor person may not be able to afford to travel to attend the
royal court in person. The other one is the pleader-attorney, who
accompanies his client to court and advocates his position with
his knowledge of the law and his persuasiveness.
In 1280, the city of London made regulations for the admission of
both types of attorneys to practice before the civic courts, and
for their due control. In 1292 the king directed the justices to
provide a certain number of attorneys and apprentices to follow
the court, who should have the exclusive right of practicing
before it. This begins the process which will make the attorney
for legal business an "officer of the court" which has appointed
him.
- - - Chapter 9 - - -
- The Times: 1348-1399 -
Waves of the black death, named for the black spots on the body,
swept over the nation.
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