If Lawyers Didn't Exist, We'd Have to Invent Them

Lawyers are none too popular, and there is a perception that there are way too many of us. But, I think the recent decision by the Episcopal Church to approve blessings of same sex unions or to recognize that such blessings take place (depending on who you ask), is a good example of why those positions are off base. This NYT article shows that problems of complexity and communication are just part of our heterogeneous culture. Note how similar the issues facing the Church in this context are to common public law issues. The Church voted to allow each Bishop to decicde whether to allow blessings of gay unions. That decision was partially driven by concerns similar to those that animate federalism debates. And, the debate in this article about what exactly the Church's decision means is reminiscent of a statutory interpretation disagreement. The Bishops sound eerily like Congressmen who have bartered for language vague enough to allow both sides to claim victory.

These problems come up everywhere in our society. Lawyers didn't create the conflict in the Episcopal Church, and they don't create the conflicts in many other contexts (although I will admit, they do in some places). But, in order to work out these problems, you need people who have thought about not just the substance of the problem, but also the procedure necessary to solve the problem. That's what lawyers do, and that's why, if we didn't have them, we'd have to invent them.
- posted by Tom Sawyer @ 10:16 AM