Lawrence Cook: Whose client is it anyway?

It is common parlance for businesses to refer to ‘their' clients. This is often described as ‘owning' the client. Considerable effort is made to ensure that companies can demonstrate ownership of a client. Lawyers are regularly consulted to draft contracts that ensure everyone knows who the client belongs to. The financial press has covered many stories about haggling over who owns clients and who breached what clause. None of it very edifying but, of course, commercially important. The ownership of a client is not really an accurate phrase; it does not define what is meant. The pe...