Editor's Corner: Law as Illumination, Not Literalism
6 Pages Posted: 11 Oct 2015
Date Written: October 9, 2015
Abstract
Long ago, my oldest child, Paul, then all of about seven years old and holding one of his favorite superhero action figures, reflected for a moment and then earnestly declared, “Dad, Wolverine would make a really good lawyer.” Taking the bait, I responded, “Why do you say that?” In confidence, and with confidence, Paul gladly responded, “Because he’s got a really bad attitude.”
What causes a child to draw that conclusion? Maybe it was Paul’s upbringing. He had an abundance of lawyers in his extended family, and he doubtless had already concluded they used big words and liked to argue. Even without childhood precociousness or lawyer acquaintances, though, suppositions about law and lawyers are almost universal. These beliefs seem to fill a basic human need to simplify an abstract subject, the legal system, as well as the people working in that system. Regardless of origin, the notion of a lawyer-centered structure helps to make a complex system more understandable: more theater than socioeconomics, more labels than analysis.
Keywords: Business Law
JEL Classification: K00
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation