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HRL’s Professional
Services for the Legal Community:
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Legal issues often
require a historian’s ability to reconstruct the past. Accordingly, HRL is
pleased to offer to law firms and their clients a variety of valuable services
that facilitate this need. Our services include the following: |
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND
POLICY ANALYSIS:
Policy history has been
described as "the study of the origin, implementation and consequences of
decision-making of both government and private institutions." And, with minor
exceptions, legislative history can be similarly defined. Much of the activity
that occurs in the legal arena is directly attributable to legislation passed
and policies developed. HRL scholars can help you deal with legislative and
policy issues by:
Developing historical
contexts that will help you understand the societal parameters that influenced
various laws and policies.
Determining and
analyzing specific legislative intentions behind the development of laws and
policies.
Documenting the
changing needs of society as they apply to the legal challenges of
"antiquated" laws and policies.
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PROPERTY USE AND
OWNERSHIP SEARCHES:
An evolving and
increasing awareness of our environment and its deteriorating condition has led
to much litigation that focuses on the historical uses and ownership of land.
HRL scholars are experienced researchers that can:
Prepare chronologies,
narratives and special reports that identify and track over time the owners
and uses of real property, as well as describe the industrial processes that
may have occurred there.
Compile corporate
histories by obtaining an synthesizing documents that explain interlocking
directorships and corporate mergers–work that could help identify parties
today that might be responsible for pollution of the past.
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REGIONAL, STATE AND
LOCAL HISTORY:
Many of the issues with
which the legal community must deal are affected by a state’s, region’s or
company’s historical evolution. Specifically, no event has ever occurred, nor
has any decision (even case law precedents) ever been rendered, in a vacuum. All
things happen in a historical context. Accordingly, HRL scholars can:
Prepare concise
histories and historical contexts within which events, places or decisions can
be understood and evaluated.
Identify historical
facts and patterns that might affect regulatory or anti-trust cases.
Develop and prepare
Wisconsin company (or law firm) histories.
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NATURAL RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT HISTORY:
Our nation’s natural
resources are an increasingly valuable commodity. Indeed, issues associated with
water, minerals and timber, for example, and their prudent use, are frequently
litigated. In the course of such legal considerations, thorough and
well-prepared histories that track and describe resource use and management over
time can be invaluable tools. In this respect, experienced HRL scholars will:
Assist in planning and
policy evaluation, as well as in litigation, by documenting, describing and
analyzing the history of natural resource sue.
Prepare related
educational materials for presentation in court and to government agencies and
tribal council staffs.
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INDIAN HISTORY:
Historical research, as
it pertains to legal issues and litigation associated with the region’s many
Indian Nations, can involve any of the HRL services already described. However,
Indian-related litigation can also require research in a variety of specialized
sources. HRL Scholars can:
Assist in
treaty-rights legislation and litigation by collecting and analyzing records
from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Archives, Wisconsin State Archives
and Native American sources.
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