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19 June 2008 / David Greene
Issue: 7326 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Procedure & practice , Profession
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A matter of perception

David Greene sets the record straight about the state of litigation in the capital

A recent headline-grabbing report entitled Directors in the DockIs Business Facing a Liability Crisis? prepared by Lloyds of London, builds itself around the model that the development of a compensation culture in the UK is generating a perception of an increased litigation risk with the result that corporate resources are diverted from the general commercial purpose of the company to the litigation process both avoiding it and participating in it. But is it right that litigation is on the rise because of a change in our attitudes? “Perception is reality” but is the perception that is said to be reflected in this report simply misconception?

The report is produced as part of the Lloyd's 360 risk project which is intended to promote good practice in risk management in companies. It results from a polling of businesses and business people together with “in depth” interviews carried out by the Economic Intelligence Unit. Its point of reference,

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Slater Heelis—Charlotte Beck

Slater Heelis—Charlotte Beck

Partner and Manchester office lead appointed head of family

Civil Justice Council—Nigel Teasdale

Civil Justice Council—Nigel Teasdale

DWF insurance services director appointed to Civil Justice Council

R3—Jodie Wildridge

R3—Jodie Wildridge

Kings Chambers barrister appointed chair of R3 Yorkshire

NEWS

The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC

Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
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