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News

posted 20 Nov 2009

In-house counsel increase litigation capacity

ALMOST HALF of large companies now employ at least six lawyers to manage their growing litigation workload, according to a new report.

Fulbright & Jaworski’s sixth annual litigation trends survey found 48 per cent of large-capital (large-cap) companies have a legal team of six or more ― almost twice the number that reported as much in 2008 (26 per cent).

More than half (52 per cent) of these companies expect legal disputes to increase over the coming year, with over a third (38 per cent) of all US respondents citing the uncertain picture of the economy as the primary driver for the trend.

Almost a quarter (23 per cent) of large companies reported expecting an increase in internal investigations into their own activities, while some fifth (18 per cent) plan to increase their budget for employment litigation.

However, only six per cent of large companies expect to decrease their budgets in other areas of litigation to balance the rise.

Fulbright global litigation head, Stephen C Dillard, said: “Generally, litigation rises in an economic downturn as regulators tend to step up enforcement, laid-off workers head to court and companies need to file more suits in order to collect on money owed.”

“Perhaps most telling about this year’s results is that companies across the spectrum expect no substantial decreases in any area of litigation.”

More than a third of the 408 companies polled also reported increasing their use of alternative fee structures in 2009, while over half (53 per cent) said their total annual litigation spend now exceeds US$1m.

Cost-cutting measures being trialled include outsourcing some e-discovery functions and strengthening internal document-retention procedures.

“While companies aren’t necessarily spending less on litigation, in-house counsel are finding other ways to cut costs,” Dillard explained.