Continuity of Attorney Traditions/New Attorneys
That group of more than 18% of those appointed as attorneys who continued after the Black Death was more than sufficient to continue their traditions. They included most of the very active attorneys. About 45% of the pre-Black Death attorneys were fairly irrelevant to that continuity anyway, since they appeared but rarely. Considering that the volume of litigation was far diminished, continuity could be maintained.
If newcomers had greatly outnumbered those who continued, continuity might have been threatened. Newcomers in the six terms beginning in Trinity term 1350 amounted only to 177 attorneys, whereas there were a total 264 attorneys continuing, of whom 145 were frequently appointed (more than five times) before the Black Death.
The prior history of the newcomers, moreover, is not known, at least yet. Some of them could have been lawyers who had functioned as attorneys some time earlier in their careers and found it desirable to take up a Westminster practice once again. Some could have been apprentices working with attorneys who had died or retired since 1348. Others could well have been local lawyers who were every bit as skilled as those accustomed to work at Westminster.
Everything considered, the mortality occasioned by the Black Death would not seem to have presented a grave threat to the continuity of the lower branch of the legal profession. Demand was down, and the surviving and continuing lawyers constituted both a majority of the post-Black Death attorneys and a substantial core of highly experienced practitioners who could well manage to provide needed continuity.
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