The first signs of a reduction in the overall number of disputes has emerged, according to the Norton Rose Fulbright 13th report on Annual Litigation Trends. A review of the 10-year trend in disputes revealed that 2012 was the peak in terms of average volume. However, litigation driven by regulators is on the increase whilst cybersecurity and data protection are viewed as the top emerging threat - nearly two-thirds of those polled (63 per cent) feel more exposed to disputes in this area. Contract litigation showed the largest year-over-year increase from 35 per cent in 2016 to 43 per cent in 2017. 

Litigation legal spend

The research also found that companies had an average $1.7m on disputes per $1 billion revenue with 59 per cent of legal spend going on law firms. Furthermore, whilst companies were satisfied with alternative fee arrangements, the research found that 72 per cent of work was still conducted under hourly rates. Alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) were used by 58 per cent of respondents, with 96 per cent of them satisfied with the work from an AFA. Fixed-fee AFA use increased from 67 per cent in 2016 to 77 per cent this year.

Reputational risk

Commenting on the findings, Gerry Pecht, Norton Rose Fulbright’s global head of dispute resolution and litigation, said: For large companies that work with massive amounts of sensitive personal data, data protection is an absolute imperative. A single cyber event has the potential to expose a business to class actions and serious reputational risk. These are high stakes, and this report looks at measures companies take to mitigate this increasing risk.'