You probably don’t thoroughly read contracts you are asked to sign (or click through).  But lest you think that lawyers read through things they are asked to sign in everyday life, Above the Law is reporting that even the legendary Judge Richard Posner [bio] didn’t read his home equity loan contract, much to the amusement of the audience at the panel where he made his confession.

I suppose Posner should be grateful that his bank didn’t take his soul as part of the deal?  (Don’t laugh–it happened to 7,500 customers of a British computer game retailer earlier this year.)

As amusing as such stories may be from a news perspective, they clearly raise troubling questions about the sacrosanct role of contracts within our society.