Lawyers and the Financial Litigation Tsunami

Karl Mackie, Chair of the European Litigation Summit 2009 and Chief Executive, CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution)

Here is the good news. In a recent survey (Opinion Research Corporation Dec 2008), only 3% of respondents blamed lawyers for the current financial/economic crisis. On the other hand, that may be an indication of how little a role lawyers are seen to play in business strategy and social trends. Or perhaps I should reveal that those questioned in the survey commissioned by the American Bar Association were themselves lawyers and perhaps unlikely to acknowledge any responsibility even if they made a significant contribution. (As perhaps in the Erin Brockowicz film line – “Do they teach lawyers to apologise? Cos you suck at it!”.)