The first known legal decision was in 1850 B.C. And in 1700 BC the first written laws were established by a Babylonian king named Hammurabi. The first Law School was not opened until 1100 AD in Bologna, Italy. Although people were actively studying the written law since the BC era, it was the English King, Edward I in the late 1200s AD who spawned the earliest form of modern lawyers through legal reforms in England. These early lawyers were called 'barristers' and 'solicitors' and they represented 'for' and 'against' sides in legal disputes. An interesting note, the recent movie Braveheart was based on the story of King Edward I and William Wallace of Scotland in 1304. William Wallace was not allowed by King Edward to be represented by a lawyer.

It was not until the U.S. bill of rights was ratified in 1791 that people in the US were guaranteed legal representation by the sixth amendment.

To read more about legal history, follow the link below.

World Legal Information Association: World Legal History Guide