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Background Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2008
(Revised from original 2003 version)
Law and Legal Reasoning: An Introduction
by
Henry B. Reiling
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Abstract
Gives prominence to Mr. Justice Holmes' Prediction Theory of the law as a practical--and by analogy to forecasting in finance and other functional areas of business--comfortable, and familiar way for businesspeople to think about the law. Law is defined as a forecast of what the relevant facts proving the presence or absence of those concepts or principles will turn out to be. The basis for the forecast of concepts is a hierarchy of sources beginning with statutes, followed in sequence by an assessment of case precedent and considerations of social advantage.
Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction;
Law;
Theory;