Our annual survey of corporate counsel, legal, and compliance officers at companies based in the US, Europe, and Asia found that data security is top-of-mind, and litigation and compliance risks remain constant.
- Litigation risks are prevalent, and bet-the-company litigation persists. One in eight of our respondents was involved in bet-the-company litigation, consistent with the last several years of survey results. In response, 85% of in-house legal departments have increased in size or maintained; 80% have increased or maintained their use of outside counsel.
- Data breaches and cyber-attacks are the biggest threat to the organizations surveyed. Accordingly, data security and information governance is an issue that is top-of-mind for in-house counsel. The one area where technology is not playing a significant role is in how they are combatting litigation risk – approximately 80% of respondents were not using technology or data analytics to do so.
- Political change and economic threats will be disruptive. Brexit, tariffs, and turmoil in emerging markets were cited by 40% or more of our respondents as factors that will increase litigation globally.
- Financial institutions are considering their transition away from LIBOR. While 51% of respondents in the financial services industry said their organizations have a LIBOR Transition Task Force, only 33% say they are fully ready for the phase-out at the end of 2021.