The uncomplicated way to tell the story is -- in 1179 Henry II created the grand assize [a king's court] as an alternative to trial by combat [Thomas, 1993, p. 70]. The court system was on the way. What you knew could become more important than your skill with a sword.

But what is a legal system without lawyers? Well, it depends on what you are going to call a lawyer, but if you mean someone with special training in the law who makes his living acting for others in court then lawyers were still a long way off. It would be another century before there were lawyers of this stripe [Brand, 1992].

No lawyers is only part of the story, however. Very soon after establishing the grand assize the practice of acting for in court started. In 1200, for example, William de Boynton acted for the Fauconbergs in court. That is the paragraph starting this story; Walter de Fauconberg asking William de Boynton to act for him in court.

How do we find a lawyer? We talk to our friends, consult the yellow pages, watch the ads on TV, consult the internet, and generally cast about for someone who could do the job.

Selection seems to have been more fully informed in the 13th century. Walter de Fauconberg and William's father, Walter de Boynton, were contemporaries who had worked together on church, economic, and government matters for decades. William, himself, had known and worked with the Fauconbergs for a decade or more. He had, for example, been witness when the Fauconbergs gave land to Fountain Abbey.

142. Gift by Walter de Fauconberg to Fountains Abbey of his specified pasture of Kettlewell previously held of him for a term, in which none should have common with the monks except his own men of Kettlewell [c. 1175-90]

Hiis testibus, Willelmo de Estuteuill', Willelmo de Bouincton', Willelmo filio Radulfi, Gaufrido de Beelum, Roberto forestario, Nicholao de Caiton', Matheo forestario, petro de Plunt[ona], Toma Oisel. [Clay, 1963, p. 167]

You did have to inform the court if someone was going to act for you; 'acting for' was a formalized procedure. One of the documents specifically tells the court that William was to act for the Fauconbergs in place of John Harpham who had been acting for them.

The aforesaid Walter and Agnes appointed in their place the same William, for gain or loss, against Walter Riebof and Ysabella his wife in an action concerning land and they dismissed Johannes Harpham whom they had previously appointed.
[Curia Regis Rolls, 1922, p. 120]

The "for gain or loss" meant you could not return to court later and say that the earlier decision should be overturned because it was someone other than you who had been there -- in this case William.

As early as 1200 they were developing a specialized language that would eventually lead to professional lawyers -- people with linguistic expertise for sale.

The Fauconberg family was in the middle of a disagreement about who should inherit various pieces of land around 1200, which is the matter they asked William to help them with. Walter de Fauconberg and his wife Agnes, Petronella who was the sister of Agnes and the wife of Steffan, and Walter Riebof and Ysabella his wife were involved in the court actions. Nothing in the documents specifies the relationship of the Riebofs to the others; perhaps, Ysabella was the sister of one of the other persons involved. William was acting for Walter and Agnes Fauconberg, and Nicholas de Cheine was acting for Petronella. It involved property [and courts] in three counties: Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire. William's job seems to have been traveling between counties and courts to arrange for the settlement. There are five documents from the courts that are very similar except they are the same steps in different counties. [court documents]

William was appointed to act for others at least two more times. A year later, 1201, he was appointed to act for William who has no last name, other than son of Walter, in the record. In 1206 William acted for the Abbat of Melsa in Yorkshire. [court documents] This was the same session of the Curia Regis in which his father, Walter, was sitting on the bench.

Forty years later you find the same practices of lawyering. Another Boynton was acting for an abbot -- Ernald de Boynton acting for the abbot of Reading Abbey (Kemp, 1986). Ernald appeared before the king's court meeting in Westminster in 1243, 1244 and 1247 [court documents]. The cases involved agreements between the abbey and the individuals who were using the land. The proto-lawyer status of 'acting for' is clearly seen in the case [418] in which Ernald appears for the Abbot and the son of the defendants, Luke, appears to act for them. Luke does not otherwise act as a lawyer in the collection of court documents. He is just a son representing his parents.

William seems to have been a proto-lawyer as well as a land holder. He acted for others in court as lawyers would in the future, and he probably was well rewarded for his service. We do not know about the rewards he may have received. His father was business manager of St. Mary's, York; he was in the business of church. William went into law instead of the church.

. . .

Paul Brand (1992) The Origins of the English Legal Profession, Blackwell.

Charles Travis Clay (1963) Early Yorkshire Charters; The Percy Fee, vol. XI, Yorkshire Archaeological Society Record Series.

Curia Regis Rolls of the Reigns of Richard I. and John, His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1922.

Hugh M. Thomas (1993) Vassals, Heiresses, Crusaders, and Thugs; The Gentry of Angevin Yorkshire, 1154-1216, University of Pennsylvania Press.

Kemp, B. R., ed. (1986) Reading Abbey Cartularies, vol. i Camden Fourth Series, vol 31.