Norton Rose Fulbright’s 2024 Annual Litigation Trends Survey finds that in-house legal teams are likely to grow in the year ahead.

As organizations expect more legal disputes across the board in 2024, more than half (52%) expect to hire internally to meet demand – much higher than the 36% who said the same in our 2023 Annual Litigation Trends Survey report.

In 2023, most in-house disputes teams were small, with the majority having 10 or fewer lawyers, while organizations tended to spread their litigation work among multiple law firms. 

In addition, 2023 saw a notable drop in corporate counsel’s confidence in their ability to handle litigation, as organizations confront legal issues ranging from mounting regulatory investigations to heightened dispute exposure in 2024.

Only 29% of respondents say their organizations are very prepared to address litigation in 2024, compared to 43% in last year’s report. The majority (51%) place themselves in the “somewhat prepared” category, compared to 40% last year, reflecting a more tempered outlook for the year ahead.

Download the 2024 Annual Litigation Trends Survey for more details.

Key litigation trends

Cybersecurity and data protection

Cybersecurity and data protection

Forty percent of organizations saw their cybersecurity dispute exposure grow in 2023 as cyberattacks reached record levels.

United States | January 17, 2024
Class actions

Class actions

In the wake of last year’s banking crisis, the share of organizations involved in bank or financial fraud class actions more than doubled, to 21% in 2023 from 9% in 2022.

United States | January 17, 2024
Intellectual property

Intellectual property

AI is a leading contributor to both cybersecurity exposure and IP vulnerabilities, with roughly half of respondents saying that increased use of AI will grow their exposure.

United States | January 17, 2024
Environmental, social and governance

Environmental, social and governance

One in 10 respondents experienced ESG-related litigation last year (compared to just 2 percent in 2022) – a development we anticipated in our 2023 report.

United States | January 17, 2024
Regulation and investigations

Regulation and investigations

A greater proportion of organizations were involved in regulatory proceedings in 2023 versus the previous year, with 61% of respondents involved in at least one.

United States | January 17, 2024


Contacts

Steven D. Jansma
Steven D. Jansma
Head of Litigation and Disputes, United States
Email
steven.jansma@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +1 210 270 9366
Andrea L. D'Ambra
Andrea L. D'Ambra
US Head of Technology and US Head of eDiscovery and Information Governance
Email
andrea.dambra@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +1 212 318 3015
Mayling C. Blanco
Mayling C. Blanco
Deputy General Counsel, Compliance
Email
mayling.blanco@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +1 212 318 3340
Art Licygiewicz
Art Licygiewicz
Partner
Email
art.licygiewicz@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +1 214 855 8256
Rachel Roosth
Rachel Roosth
Partner
Email
rachel.roosth@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +1 713 651 3734

Practice areas:

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