PI Brief Update

The Constant Evolution of the Law

Brought to you by our friends at Lexis Nexis in New Zealand

Lawyers often seem paranoid that their business is just about to collapse or that there will cease to be a need for their services any longer. I mean, let’s face it, if society were able to solve all its disputes without the need for legal fees, there’d be very few outside of the legal community who would be arguing against that. But, for good or for bad, I really don’t think lawyers have much to fear. First off, laws themselves need drafting. Then they need interpreting and finally when disputes come along these often need arguing.

But it’s not just the need for regulation and dispute resolution that assures lawyers a future. It’s that the very culture of the law itself has become a kind of self-perpetuating machine. So, in interpreting every new piece of legislation, lawyers will often turn to the whole body of case law which has preceded it. Sometimes, in doing so they can sound like the child just learning about the world and constantly asking “Why?” and “What does that mean?” Constantly breaking down words and phrases into clear definitions and even alternative definitions depending upon the context.

It’s enough to drive many to despair. On the other hand, the development of the law in each country and the arguments about the meaning of our words and phrases can almost be seen to reflect the development of that place’s culture and values. A kind of alternative history where a Legal Dictionary can have as much to say about where a country is now as its history books do in explaining how they’ve arrived there.

That’s not just in relation to disputes between commercial entities either. Because for all the flak lawyers get, they are also the people we turn to when we need to challenge overbearing power, whether that comes from the state, corporations or individuals. Above all, they are the people that will help defend our rights and liberties when they are threatened.

Sometimes it might seem to some that such talk of rights and liberties doesn’t actually apply to them. But whether you are ever part of a legal challenge or not, the rights which are defended and defined in our courts of law affect us all in one way or the other. It might be simply in setting the boundaries for what is and is not acceptable in particular circumstances. It might be about regulating how we do business together. Or it might be about such fundamental rights as freedom of speech and expression or a right to a fair trial.

That’s not to put too romantic an idea on the business of law. But nor is it worth forgetting that lawyers really do have a useful purpose both in the regulation of society and in the defense of our liberties. It’s also why their own anxieties as to the long term future of the profession are in my view not likely to come to fruition in reality. For just as society will continue to evolve, so will the law and its practitioners alongside.

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