Legal disputes on the rise says Shoosmiths

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In a recent report, Shoosmiths found that 82% of in-house senior lawyers expect to increase spending on legal disputes over the next three years.

The firm surveyed 360 general counsel at companies with revenues exceeding £100 million. The majority agreed that their organisations deal with disputes at every level effectively.

Data from the report, Litigation Risk 2024, showed that the financial services sector has the most disputes at every level. The report highlighted that counsel anticipated a rise in group litigation, environmental disputes, supply chain disputes and employment issues. Consequently, more than three-in-four senior lawyers expect to expand their teams to handle more disputes in-house.

According to the report, many companies are also considering using third-party litigation funding, but this varies sector to sector. For example, businesses in the technology sector are more interested than financial services companies.

Alex Bishop, partner and head of dispute resolution and litigation at Shoosmiths, said: “We hope our report will help businesses to prepare for the inevitable disputes that will arise, and to minimise the associated costs, risks and reputational damage.”