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2010 Litigation Trends Survey

BY Stephen C. Dillard
December 21, 2010

In the 2009 Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Litigation Trends Survey, 42% of U.S. corporate counsel reported they expected an increase in the volume of legal disputes over the coming 12 months. The 2010 survey has proved them right. Lawsuits became more numerous with 87% of respondents in this country reporting their company had at least one new lawsuit commenced against it in the previous 12 months, up from 83% in 2009. Those with more than five new lawsuits commenced against them represented 58% of the U.S. sample this year, compared with 50% last year; those with over 50 new lawsuits rose 3% to 21% of this year's U.S. sample.

The three-year upward trend in litigation since the economic crisis hit in 2007 may continue. More than a quarter of all respondents expected the volume of disputes their companies will face in the next 12 months to increase. The primary reason: the continuing economic slump, cited by 40% of U.S. respondents and nearly half of those in the UK. The changing economy will also affect the way the legal profession does business, according to half of U.S. respondents and nearly a quarter of UK respondents.

The regulatory area is now the third most common litigation concern after contracts and labor and employment, replacing bankruptcy on last year's survey. This is not surprising in light of major reforms in health care and financial services and the still-evolving framework for offshore oil production. A quarter of all respondents expect their companies to face an increase in regulatory proceedings over the next 12 months; that figure rises to approximately one-third of respondents in the energy, health care, manufacturing and insurance sectors.

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