The Interface of Myth and Practice in Law

The purpose of this Article is to explore this myth, including its apparent inaccuracies, and to explain its persistence by recognizing the valid societal function that it fulfills. Part I will focus on this myth or religion of law--a law of rules--and attempt to explain its attractiveness to the nascent and practicing legal decisionmaker. Part II will explore the role of the lawyer within a process of decision making that is actually imbued with ambiguity. Finally, Part III will consider the remaining significance of "the law" as a very real factor that limits and controls the legal decisionmaker.