The latest Litigation Trends Survey from global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright includes data from more than 600 corporate counsel (mostly GCs) representing companies from more than 24 different countries on disputes-related issues. As with previous years, many GCs feel that the spike in litigation against companies is far from over. At least one in four GC reported that they expected litigation volumes to increase in the year ahead, while only 13 per cent said that they expected a decrease in the quantity of litigation levelled against their company.

6 per cent more companies sued

Norton Rose Fulbright’s data provides evidence of the litigation wave currently facing companies. Since 2015, the proportion of companies and organisations with no disputes commenced against them during the year has dropped from 25 per cent to 19 per cent. Meanwhile, the proportion of respondents whose companies are facing between six and 20 lawsuits has grown significantly, from 20 per cent to 24 per cent. The United States is still the frontrunner for litigation, with a median of seven disputes as compared to the global median of five. The median for US companies is much larger at 20 for companies with more than $1bn in revenues.

Perceived regulatory pressure

The survey found no significant change in the number of regulatory proceedings being commenced against companies in the last year. Around 65 per cent of respondents had not encountered any new regulatory proceedings against their company in the last 12 months, just 1 per cent down from last year’s figures. Despite these findings, around 97 per cent of respondents said they felt that regulators had become more interventionist over the last 12 months.