A new survey by law firm Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. shows that litigation will likely become a bigger part of life for technology and telecom companies in the year ahead.
Roughly 68 percent of technology companies faced at least one new lawsuit last year, with 30 percent facing six or more new suits in the past year, according to the annual survey. And 29 percent of the technology companies surveyed reported facing at least one $20 million action.
Litigation has obviously become a major line item in technology company budgets, with 14 percent of the tech firms reporting they spent at least $5 million on litigation, excluding costs of settlements and judgments. The study revealed that 47 percent reported spending more than $1 million per year on business disputes.
The Fulbright & Jaworski Litigation Trends survey is designed to take a macro look at the landscape for business disputes in the U.S. and U.K. The survey spans numerous topics, from the most prevalent types of lawsuits that businesses face to what new legal burdens are impacting their budgets.
The survey spanned 10 industry groups – from financial services to energy, manufacturing, health care, retail, real estate, insurance, education, and technology and telecommunications. Companies were spread across all regions of the country and were well represented by size: Twenty-two percent report revenues under $100 million, while 39 percent have sales of between $100 million and $999 million, and another 39 percent at $1 billion and above. Forty-four percent of companies are publicly held (including 58 percent on the NYSE) and 57 percent maintain at least one foreign office, with 19 percent boasting locations in more than 20 countries worldwide.
Technology companies’ in-house law departments reported contacts matters (69 percent) were their biggest concern, followed by intellectual property/patents (62 percent) and labor/employment (59 percent).
The survey said 24 percent of technology companies expect litigation to increase in the next year, while only 9 percent are expecting a drop in suits.
