Commercial complexity made lawyers indispensable despite colonial hostility

Evidence

But the lawyers were, in the end, a necessary evil. When all is said and done, no colony could even try to make do without lawyers. Makeshifts worked, more or less, in the early days, but as society became more complex—​and more commercial—​lawyers became more useful. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 519

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Legal profession growth tracked commercial expansion, not litigation demand alone — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 1215; Colonial legal reforms defy pure economic or repressive explanations — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 1163; Early American commercial law was framed as international rather than parochial — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1539 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Early American commercial law was framed as international rather than parochial #corroborates (0.85) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1539
• Colonial legal reforms defy pure economic or repressive explanations #corroborates (0.80) — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 1163
• Western lawyers pursued politics, land, and litigation as fortune routes #expands (0.75) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1828