[1] Fulbright Jaworski issues latest litigation trends survey

Fulbright & Jaworski has released its 4th Annual Litigation Trends Survey which reports on senior corporate counsel on their experiences and opinions regarding various aspects of litigation and related matters. This year’s survey focused on over 300 respondents from companies based in the United States and the United Kingdom. Among the findings this year are these data points:

• The number of lawsuits filed against companies in the survey appears to be down from last year, returning to levels similar to 2005.
• However, suits with $20 million or more at stake are on the rise. All of the smallest and mid-sized company respondents reported at least one lawsuit of that size in the past year. Twenty percent of the largest companies surveyed had 21-50 lawsuits of that size.
• Almost 40% of the largest companies surveyed spent $5 million or more annually on litigation, excluding settlements and awards.
• There has been a major increase in the use of litigation hold policies over the past three years.
• In the records retention area, 31 % of all the companies in the survey now log or retain instant messages, and 40% retain voice mail.