Nearly three-quarters of commercial law firms have pressed clients to sign away rights to pursue negligence claims when taking instructions, according to new research that shows that the controversial practice is quickly becoming commonplace.

The latest Legal Week/ EJ Legal Big Question poll of more than 100 senior lawyers found that 60% of respondents ‘sometimes’ agree limits on their liability for individual instructions while a further 12% do so ‘often’ or ‘all the time’.