The happy coincidence: why your lawyer is (sometimes) immune from suit

The rule of law

Certainty and finality of judicial decisions are values at the heart of the rule of law. They are not to be undermined by subsequent collateral attacks. If a decision is thought to be wrong, the aggrieved party should exercise any right of appeal.

Readers of Insurance Matters will instantly recognise the preceding paragraph as stating some fairly fundamental legal principles—that, as we will see, the common law is at pains to protect.

Alternative reality

Most litigation involves some form of alternative universe.

Plaintiffs routinely allege that if some wrong had not happened, a different reality would have existed, which would have been better for them.