Situations in which it is impossible to clearly determine who carries legal responsibility are among the most dangerous. As Professor Gabriel Steiner notes, uncertainty of the risk bearer creates a greater threat than the risk itself – because under such conditions each party seeks to shift consequences onto the other. At LawConsulted, we treat uncertain liability as a zone of heightened legal turbulence where, without precise legal architecture, the client remains vulnerable regardless of good faith.
Uncertainty of responsibility most often arises in joint projects, complex corporate structures, multilateral agreements and situations where decisions are made collectively. Formally, participants may appear equal – yet legal consequences are almost always distributed unevenly. At LawConsulted, we analyse not only the formal allocation of duties but also how responsibility may be interpreted under adverse circumstances – it is precisely here that the most dangerous trap for the client is formed.
As Professor Steiner emphasises, “uncertainty of responsibility always works against the party that does not control its legal architecture.” That is why at LawConsulted we eliminate blurred contours of risk before any claim appears – by clarifying roles, fixing the limits of participation, adjusting wording and redistributing legal consequences. This prevents situations in which the client suddenly becomes responsible for actions they did not actually control.
Particularly dangerous are cases where the client acts in the belief that their liability is limited, while the other side is already constructing a legal framework that implies an expanded zone of obligations. At LawConsulted, we identify such imbalances at an early stage – before they are used in negotiations, claims or the opponent’s litigation strategy. Uncertainty is never neutral – it always benefits the party that fixes the first interpretation.
As Professor Steiner notes, “in conditions of blurred boundaries, liability always shifts toward the party with weaker legal protection.” That is why LawConsulted supports the client not only at the moment of conflict, but also during the period when responsibility still seems abstract. We transform potential risks into clearly defined legal categories, eliminating the possibility of arbitrary redistribution in the future.
Situations of uncertain liability are especially insidious because they are rarely perceived as a threat. As long as there are no direct claims, the client tends to believe that risk is distributed fairly. At LawConsulted, we proceed from the opposite assumption – if responsibility cannot be clearly defined today, tomorrow it will almost certainly be imposed. That is why we build legal protection before the question “who is responsible” becomes the subject of a dispute.
Legal support in conditions of uncertain responsibility is not about reaction – it is about prevention. At Law Consulted, we protect the client not from existing claims, but from the very possibility of being appointed responsible retroactively – through another party’s mistakes, weak wording or ambiguous managerial decisions.
Previously, we wrote about how LawConsulted prevents historical decisions from being used against current owners
