Life without lawyers

A new book discusses how Americans can get away from the legal minefield
A new book discusses how Americans can get away from the legal minefield

“How did the land of freedom become a legal minefield?” asks Philip K. Howard in his new book, Life Without Lawyers: Liberating Americans from Too Much Law. This thought-provoking review in the New York Review of Books puts forth some of Howard’s arguments, including legal horror stories in the US like the $54 million lawsuit for a pair of missing pants. With due skepticism, book critic Anthony Lewis takes Howard’s book through the wringer and discusses legal reform and the pains of bureaucracy. With a refreshing discussion of legal philosophy, if the book isn’t worth reading, the review certainly is.