Inside the Law

Law firms are important economic institutions in this country: they

collect hundreds of millions of dollars annually in fees, they order the affairs of

businesses and of many government agencies, and their members include some of the

most influential Canadians. Some firms have a history stretching back nearly two

hundred years, and many are over a century old. Yet the history of law firms in

Canada has remained largely unknown. This collection of essays, Volume VII in the

Osgoode Society's series of Essays in the History of Canadian Law, is the first

focused study of a variety of law firms and how they have evolved over a century and

a half, from the golden age of the sole practitioner in the pre-industrial era to

the recent rise of the mega-firm. The volume as a whole is an exploration of the

impact of economic and social change on law-firm culture and organization. The

introduction by Carol Wilton provides a chronological overview of Canadian law-firm

evolution and emphasizes the distinctiveness of Canadian law-firm history.