Complications. Utopia, the wildly successful humanist satire of 1516, describes the imaginary island of Utopia, an ideal world of perfect justice where lawyers do not exist. Sir Thomas More was himself a practicing lawyer when he wrote his novel, yet he provided no place for lawyers in Utopia. Conduct in Utopia was governed by simple rules that were natural and obvious to all. Lawyers would complicate things and thereby alienate ordinary citizens who merely wanted to live free from arbitrary constraints. Utopia was More's scathing attack against the evils afflicting men who live under the rule of tyrants, yet he saw no role for legal scholars who might protect those citizens. Animosity toward lawyers was especially high in More's age because the heightened professionalism of law made it difficult to pursue legal avenues without employing a lawyer.

Case Law v. Code...