We love to laugh at America’s warning-label culture (the bag of airline peanuts that says Caution: Contains Nuts). But more troubling are the everyday acts of silence and loss promoted by the fear of being sued. Your doctor might not speak to you frankly; your kids’ principal might not feel he has the right to remove bad teachers.

Attorney Philip K. Howard founded the nonpartisan group Common Good to combat this culture and reform several key areas of our legal system. Among Common Good’s suggestions: specialized health care courts, which would give lower but smarter awards, and a project with the NYC Board of Ed and the Teachers Union to overhaul the disciplinary system in New York public schools. His new book is The Rule of Nobody: Saving America from Dead Laws and Broken Government.