Litigation Risk Rises Amid Sagging Economy

The upward trend in litigation against U.S. companies that began with the economic downturn continued in 2010 and will likely increase again in the coming year, according to the Seventh Annual Litigation Trends Survey from international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski. Some 93 percent of corporate counsel at U.S. firms polled by Fulbright & Jaworski expect legal disputes to increase or remain the same in the next 12 months, while 87 percent said their companies faced new litigation in the past year, up from 83 percent the previous year.