In Search of the Past: A Lawyer's Perspective

Like historians, lawyers use architectural records as evidence, but their goal is not to interpret the past, but to prove it. The most important element architectural records provide to the defense of legal claims against architects and engineers is the dimension of time. Being able to determine a sequence of events relating to a claim is paramount when arguing whether an architect or engineer acted in a professional manner and exercised professional standards of care in the performance of work. Therefore, until the threat of litigation on a particular project or building is past (and it rarely ever is), the retention of all architectural records is safest. Then, in the event of litigation, using their own versions of selection, arrangement, and description, legal teams can work to re-create the events and circumstances of the past.