With the economy ailing, more than one-third of in-house counsel expect new litigation to surge during 2008, according to a recently released survey.
The banking crisis, credit squeeze and subprime market problems are all expected to help fuel various forms of litigations, according to the 2008 Litigation Trends Survey sponsored by the international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
The fifth annual survey also found that insurance companies are now the top target for new litigation, followed by retailers. The findings showed that 85% of insurance companies faced at least one new lawsuit last year, with 67% facing six or more new suits.
In contrast to the 2008 findings, only 22% of in-house counsel reported during a 2007 Fulbright & Jaworski survey that they expected an increase in legal disputes for their company in the 12 months ahead.
“This year’s survey appears to mark an inflection point for American business, between the end of a prolonged period of prosperity and the start of a period of economic challenge that is likely to fuel litigation over who is to blame and who should pay for the consequences,” said Stephen C. Dillard, chairman of Fulbright’s global litigation practice.
The survey was conducted from May 22 through July 18 and relied on responses from 358 in-house attorneys from corporate law departments in the United States and United Kingdom, including 251 in the United States. Results are available at www.fulbright.com.