The growing blame culture in the UK and beyond means in-house lawyers could be at risk from a lack of insurance cover for the advice they give, International Bar Association president Francis Neate warned delegates in Amsterdam.

In-house lawyers will often not be covered by the directors' and officers' liability insurance because of the advisory nature of their role.


Mr Neate said: 'When a company goes down the tube, there is public dissatisfaction, and with the current blame culture there is pressure to find out who is to blame...


'We may have directors' and officers' liability insurance, but [even if this applies] on the insurance forms that I have seen, you come up against the "insured against insured" exclusion [where the insurer will not pay out for claims against related parties].


'You could be quite likely to be sued by your own company, or by the liquidators. But it is absurdly difficult to get insurers to change that clause.'