Dear Editor

...Dear Editor Against the Law Elliott Abrams review of Scott Turow's One L ("The Making of a Lawyer," NL, January 30) correctly criticizes some prevalent attitudes about law school that it should be "relevant," relatively easy, friendly, and intimate It is true, as he says, that many lawyers-to-be wrongly expect law school to order their lives, when that is decidedly their own responsibility Yet I think Abrams has accepted the law schools' case, as it were, too readily He portrays these institutions—especially Harvard—as magical training grounds of some sort, where the student is tested under "rigorous conditions" and from which he emerges finally able to think In reality, their purpose is much more limited They instruct the student in legal reasoning, a form of thought (some would say obfuscation) that has no more close a relationship to reality than, say, auto mechanics does After three years at HLS, a newly-minted lawyer has the ability to defend or attack, under certain ground rules, on paper or in a court of law, and that, it seems to me, is about all (Later, of course, he will learn other skills, such as milking clients and wearing three-piece suits ) It was not without reason that Sir Thomas More said of the serenely fortunate inhabitants of his Utopia, "They have no lawyers among them, for they consider them a sort of people whose profession it is to disguise matters " Long Beach, Cal Mike Mishkin Elliott Abrams' review is thought-provokmg but misleading He says the only thing that counts in becoming a good lawyer is objective analysis But 1 know from personal experience that Socratic dialogues have nothing to do with, say, real estate law in New York City—it is politics all the way Analysis is meaningful if you want to be a legal scholar, but not if you want to practice law Fort Lee, N J Stephen Hotjsman The Business of Art Richard Bid's 'Hawking the Seasons" (NL, January 30) is a noble effort, yet his endeavor was doomed from the start Arguments like Bid's, which decry the commerciahzalion ot art and call The New Leader welcomes comment and criticism on any of its features, but letters should not exceed 300 words for a return to some pure conception of the creative act, always seem to end up exaggerating both the virtues of the past and the evils of the present Thus, contrary to what Biel implies, there was never a time when artists were totally free to create exactly what they wanted, without any political or monetary pressure True, anyone can make whatever he wants in the privacy of his garret, but once he decides to go public, he cannot avoid acknowledging the values of the marketplace and of his society This was true for the residents of ancient Athens, and it is just as true for the residents of Soho Nor does the artist have it so bad in '70s America Sure, his work will be seen at specified times of the year—but only because it is more convenient that way for the people who will be his audience And sure, he is managed and sold, by someone who often earns more monev than he does—but the artist doesn't have to worry about business arrangements, and he can make a good deal of money himself The arrangement of art into a business provides a consumer service by weeding out the unworthies, supplies an aura of glamour that most of us appreciate, insures that good artists will stay around even if they go into a temporary slump, and gives us lovely theaters and museums It can even be argued, in fact, that by paying for some works and not others, art-as-commerce has formulated a much-needed definition of what art is Mission, Kans Robert Bver Kudos It was with great interest that I was introduced to your magazine last vear after returning from living in France, where different opinions seem much more readily available in the press In the Slates, I learn more trom The New Leader than irom almost any other source New Boston, N H Mary Podevin Catching up with back issues after some weeks abroad, 1 was delighted to read Thomas J Cottle s "The Fires ot Eddie Harrington" (NL January 16) This is a perfect new approach, it seems to me that gives full expression to the NL's humane attitudes Congratulations Westport Conn HOPE HALE DAVIS...