Clients have issued a vote of no confidence in the legal system's ability to handle a flood of competition-related litigation that they expect will follow UK and European law reform.

Research produced by City giant Clifford Chance this week shows that UK and German multinationals anticipate a 'surge' in litigation, but that UK and German courts and the clients themselves are not prepared for the new 'US-style' landscape.

Nearly three quarters of the 100 senior executives surveyed said they expected litigation to increase.

And more than half thought their companies would consider claiming damages in court.

In spite of this, only 18% of the companies surveyed are actively planning for the prospect of private actions.

Both UK and German companies slammed the UK court system, with more than 60% criticising UK national courts and judges for being ill-equipped to deal with competition-related litigation.

Three-quarters of Germans surveyed thought that their domestic courts were not ready.Chris Bright, head of Clifford Chance's European competition and regulation practice, said: 'Our survey shows that awareness levels of the reforms in UK multinationals are high, but also indicates that their capacity to turn these reforms to their competitive advantage remains limited.

Few appear committed to undertaking the compliance planning essential in this new environment.'Direct action under English law became possible for the first time in March, when the Competition Act 1998 came into force.Anne Mizzi