Attorney/Author Philip Howard Thinks So, A Theory Advanced In His Book “Life Without Lawyers: Liberating Americans from Too Much Law.”
With many reviewers hailing it as a thoughtful plea for a return to common sense, attorney Philip K. Howard has written a recent book entitled “Life Without Lawyers: Liberating Americans from Too Much Law.” Its primary thesis is that society is dazed by “rule stupor” and victimized by litigious “victims,” which produce the incentives for intensified complaining. Millions of obese children sit in front of computer and televisions, casualties of what he calls a “bubble-wrap approach to child rearing” produced by the “cult of safety.” A predictable byproduct of the victimization syndrome is brazen cynicism, encouraged by what Mr. Howard calls trial lawyers “congregating at the intersection of human tragedy and human greed.” For an interesting commentary on Mr. Howard’s recent book, see George F. Will’s column in the January 12, 2009 OpEd section of The Orange County Register. “Read Howard’s book,” Mr. Will writes, “and weep for the death of common sense.”