Why—And How—U.S. Companies Are Preparing For Increased Investigation And Regulatory Challenges
Our firm, Norton Rose Fulbright, recently completed its 17th Annual Litigation Trends Survey. One of the significant takeaways is that major companies are anticipating a new wave of regulatory and investigation challenges. These concerns are heightened for companies with significant cross-border and complex regulatory exposure, such as those in the financial services, energy, consumer markets, life science/healthcare, technology and transportation industries. As the survey data shows, in-house litigation teams foresee regulatory and investigation issues as one of their top their legal concerns for the near future.
Every year, Norton Rose Fulbright surveys corporate in-house legal departments about their perception of emerging disputes and litigation trends. This year, the firm gathered responses from more than 250 general counsel and in-house litigation team leaders. Some responses were collected by email, others by phone.
Highlights from the Survey Data
Respondents reported particular concerns regarding litigation, investigations, and regulation in the following subject areas: Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG), Cybersecurity & Data Protection, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
Among other major themes, the latest survey data shows that:
ֻֻֻ• Companies increasingly report that investigations and regulation are their top dispute concerns: 33% of respondents said that regulation and investigations were among their top dispute concerns, up significantly from 24% and 15% in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
