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The end of God

23 March 2007 / Paul Clarke
Issue: 7265 / Categories: Features , Public , Legal services
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Lawyers are maximising the opportunities presented by climate change, says Paul Clarke

Genesis tells us that God, having witnessed how evil man had become, determined to end all life on earth. The deluge that followed flooded the world. But Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his people, and was spared.

For centuries, lawyers have spoken of ‘acts of God’, which take many forms but He usually shows His presence in uncontrollable natural events, such as earthquake, fire or flood. Today, our planet faces a new threat, which resembles God’s handiwork. Climate change, however, bears the stamp of man.

It is the great issue of our time and it is changing the way we live our lives. Lawyers are clamouring to make the most of the opportunities presented by climate change.

Safety in numbers

No discussion of the future of climate change litigation would be complete without reference to multi-party litigation. Class actions are commonplace in the US and have levelled the playing field between business and individuals. A number of reasons

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

Blake Morgan managing partner appointed chair of CBI South-East Council

Birketts—Phillippa O’Neill

Birketts—Phillippa O’Neill

Commercial dispute resolution team welcomes partner in Cambridge

Charles Russell Speechlys—Matthew Griffin

Charles Russell Speechlys—Matthew Griffin

Firm strengthens international funds capability with senior hire

NEWS
The proposed £11bn redress scheme following the Supreme Court’s motor finance rulings is analysed in this week’s NLJ by Fred Philpott of Gough Square Chambers
In this week's issue, Stephen Gold, NLJ columnist and former district judge, surveys another eclectic fortnight in procedure. With humour and humanity, he reminds readers that beneath the procedural dust, the law still changes lives
Generative AI isn’t the villain of the courtroom—it’s the misunderstanding of it that’s dangerous, argues Dr Alan Ma of Birmingham City University and the Birmingham Law Society in this week's NLJ
James Naylor of Naylor Solicitors dissects the government’s plan to outlaw upward-only rent review (UORR) clauses in new commercial leases under Schedule 31 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, in this week's NLJ. The reform, he explains, marks a seismic shift in landlord-tenant power dynamics: rents will no longer rise inexorably, and tenants gain statutory caps and procedural rights
Writing in NLJ this week, James Harrison and Jenna Coad of Penningtons Manches Cooper chart the Privy Council’s demolition of the long-standing ‘shareholder rule’ in Jardine Strategic v Oasis Investments
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