After the sack of Constantinople in 1204, three states emerged from the remnants of the Byzantine Empire: Trebizond, Nicaea and Epirus. The state of Epirus, known as The Despotate of Epirus, was founded in Epirus (Western Greece) and its capital was Arta. The first ruler of the state was Michael I, who after ten years of harsh battles managed to consolidate his power and be recognized as ruler by all his neighboring states. Although the military history of the Despotate has been thoroughly studied, its legal history under the reign of Michael I has not been sufficiently researched until today. Hence, the objective of the present legal study is to scrutinize the first ten years in the life of the Despotate, and specifically its legal history as it is recorded in the surviving state documents up to 1215, the year of the assassination of Michael I.