 Howard's work has been praised by "New York Times" columnist David Brooks and "Washington Post" columnist George Will, the latter of whom called "Life Without Lawyers" "2009's most needed book on public affairs".In contrast, Consumer Watchdog has accused Howard of having "a deep disregard for public use of the justice system" and favoring corporate over consumer interests.In a "Newsweek" review of "Life Without Lawyers", Dahlia Lithwick criticized Howard for ignoring the value of other areas of law when pushing for tort and malpractice reform, writing that "the one thing scarier than a bus full of lawyers is a bus without them."