As in-house lawyers grapple with a riskier corporate environment, law firms face an even bigger challenge
Legal risks have become the most threatening source of uncertainty for global companies. Every day we read about billion-dollar fines, criminal prosecutions against venerable businesses, massive litigation and jailed executives. There are many reasons for this. Globalisation has made companies enter new markets in far-flung places, often becoming active in countries where there is no working rule of law. After many years of deregulation the economic crisis has given governments the upper hand again, and as a consequence many public authorities have come back with forceful new regulation, which has been eagerly enforced and is now well supported in many political quarters and large strands of the public.
