ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents in May, 1993, at a conference held at the Center for the Study of Law and Society, University of California, Berkeley, under the principal sponsorship of the Western Center of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. It focuses on lawyers, litigation, and the use of the law. The book consists of a historical exploration of what makes America different—the abundance of land, the social mobility, the decay of traditional churches and authorities. It describes lawyer-bashing under the microscope; and identifies it as one aspect of a counter-movement against adversarial legalism. The book sets out some of the factors that lead courts to make policy in the course of reviewing decisions of administrative agencies.
