Aside from what we picked up on our way to becoming lawyers, the whole
profession operates in substantial part, one might say, on the basis of history. We
use our basic legal education, which bears unmistakable resemblance to the
common law catalogued by Sir William Blackstone, by acting like common law
lawyers. “What have the courts said about the law in this field? Is there a case
on the question my client has brought to me?” These are questions natural to a
legal system based on the rule of precedent. It is very much a rule of history