Legal firms and government agencies are increasingly utilizing professional historians to locate physical evidence in litigation involving decades-old events. According to practitioners in the field, these "applied historians" specialize in environmental liability, water rights, and contract disputes where relevant documentation predates digital records. Ian Smith of Historical Research Associates noted that while many assume all records are online, the National Archives reports that less than 4% of its text pages are currently digitized.
In one environmental case involving a California landfill, attorney Megan Brillault utilized History Associates Incorporated to contest a six-figure settlement. Historians tracked down a retired attorney and a legacy Macintosh computer stored in a Kentucky garage. Data recovered from the computer's drive reportedly demonstrated that Brillault's client had purchased assets but not legal liabilities from a defunct company, leading to the case's resolution.
Applied historians generally bill by the hour to maintain neutrality, according to Jason Gart of History Associates. Gart stated that the profession serves as "advocates for the facts" rather than specific clients, which can sometimes result in findings that lead to settlements rather than litigation. Beyond environmental cases, these researchers assist in establishing historical water usage for Native American tribes and identifying government involvement in industrial sites during wartime to determine liability under Superfund laws.