The society was founded in 1887 by a group which included
F. W. Maitland, who served as its first literary editor and personally edited eight volumes for the Society. The Society's first years were rocky: its treasurer, P. E. Dove, committed suicide in 1894, leaving behind a deficit of £1,000. Its principal activity is publishing historical records of
English law. Since its inception, a volume of significant texts has been published every year. It also publishes a supplementary series. The current president is Donald Cryan. The current literary director is
Neil Jones, who succeeded
Sir John Baker in this role in 2011. The secretary is
Michael Lobban, Professor of Legal History at the
London School of Economics. The society meets for an annual general meeting every year, and other meetings are held in the
United States and
Australia. It often collaborates with the
Ames Foundation at
Harvard Law School. Membership of the society is open to anyone worldwide upon payment of a fee, and is primarily composed of educational institutions and interested individuals (mostly legal historians and lawyers). ==Publications==