More than half of general counsel at global companies say the risk and operating landscape has grown more complex over the past year, though they are more confident about navigating it, according to a report from FTI Consulting and legaltech company Relativity.
FTI and Relativity’s annual General Counsel Report found that 60% of GC respondents believe risk, demand and operations have become more complicated over the past 12 months, while a third said it had become more unpredictable. As many as 87% of respondents said risk is not only continuing to increase, but it is accelerating in their organisations.
However, while the velocity of risk is increasing, respondents said they were generally better prepared at handling risk across a range of areas compared to last year, including cybersecurity, data privacy regulation, ESG, generative AI and regulatory compliance. Of the 10 risk categories that had comparable data for 2025, only the increased volume of disputes and investigations showed preparedness had declined over the past 12 months.
Sophie Ross, global CEO of FTI Technology, said: “General counsel are meeting the current moment with composure, resourcefulness and a keen sense of the impact they have within their organisations.
“According to this year’s study, legal department leaders have been steadfast in balancing the increasing demands of risk mitigation against pressure to enable innovation, even as they experience a higher volume of work.”
Almost all respondents (97%) reported an increase in workload over the past 12 months, driven by new regulations and laws, as well as tariff-related matters and contract management. Just under a third of respondents (30%) said they have experienced more regulatory activity this year.
Some 57% of respondents said the cost of regulation and disputes has also increased over the past year.
Given the increase in work volumes, 39% of GCs said they were using AI and Gen AI as part of their strategy to handle increased risk and demand, a 10% increase from a year ago.
When asked to rank their top risks, Gen AI was the lowest-ranked risk.
Ari Kaplan, principal of Ari Kaplan Advisors, said: “An interesting aspect of this year’s study was the nuance in how general counsel view AI in the context of risk. While generative AI wasn’t ranked as a top five risk by most respondents, 70% did discuss concerns anecdotally during interviews.”
By contrast, only 9% discussed AI risk concerns a year ago.
The report was based on a quantitative survey of 224 GCs and chief legal officers at large organisations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, and 30 qualitative interviews with GCs and CLOs.
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