Lawyers and the Financial Litigation Tsunami

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

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!”.)