It did work. Things took longer, because people actually wrote other people letters of intent, and opened discussion with each other like civil adults. Now the lawyers make the law and write it in a language that we can't understand. It probably wouldn't fly these days because of the quickness of today's society, where businesses are expected to use overnight deliveries, and the internet is at hand nearly everywhere, being expected to work out your problems like civil adults might seem to be a bit too much for some people.

There's a saying that goes something like "Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking the law" but this was back when the law was actually common law. Now with over 6000000 statutes that act as law for the society we live in, how can any person be held to remember 6000000 statutes?