Academic

"Any system that requires that many of the country's best minds, and they are the best minds, is too complex"

By Gordon Smith, Christine, Hurt, Vic Fleischer, Fred Tung, Lisa Fairfax, David Zaring

Justice Scalia on the complexity of the American legal system. I am writing a paper right now on the (unnecessary) complexity of Delaware fiduciary law, so this argument caught my eye. On the other hand, I don't buy it. I have heard the argument before, and I suggest two quick responses:

(1) Perhaps the most obvious response is that most people who choose law are not deciding between law and curing cancer. They are choosing between law and graduate work in political science or English. It's not clear to me that society is worse off when law seems like an attractive option.

(2) The world is complex, and with all due respect to Richard Epstein, this complexity requires good lawyers. Even in a world with simple rules and lots of individual freedom, good transactional lawyers add value to relationships and increase the exchange and goods and ideas. This is a noble thing, in my view.

Full post as published by Conglomerate on June 30, 2008 (boomark / email).