Skip to main content
Research:
Research

New Roads to Dispute Resolution

The global dispute resolution survey

Corporate disputes of all types have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether from tensions over employment, consumer rights or tax, businesses are facing growing volumes of litigation on multiple fronts. At the same time, disputes are becoming more complex, time consuming and expensive – yet the appetite to litigate is higher than ever.

Download New Roads to Dispute Resolution report
6 MB PDF

To find out why, Deloitte Legal conducted a large survey on dispute resolution, attracting responses from 568 companies around the world, with annual revenues ranging from US$100 million to above US$3 billion. Our goal was to discover which disputes have escalated, how companies are responding, and what helps them reach a successful resolution.

The survey also investigated the widespread and growing influence of digital litigation tools, as well as how trust in the courts and other dispute resolution mechanisms has shifted.

“We noticed across Europe a need from clients for a litigation management service that goes beyond handling individual disputes to offer cross-border lawsuit management and the capability to handle both complex disputes and volume cases.”
Michael Falter, Partner, Deloitte Legal Germany
 

About the research

Deloitte Legal worked with Euromoney CS to produce the report, "New Roads to Dispute Resolution". The research discussed in the report is based on online surveys with senior legal and executive leadership at 568 companies across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East. Europe was, however, the focus, accounting for more than three-quarters of responses.

All types of business were represented, from financial services to entertainment, real estate and construction to media, and consumer to professional services. All respondents were from organizations with an annual revenue of at least US$100 million.

Key findings

Litigation is rising, with 64% of respondents noting a higher volume of cases since early 2020. Looking ahead, survey respondents identified consumer protection, cybersecurity, and corporate and capital markets litigation as major threats, while environmental, social and governance (ESG) and employment disputes were also areas of big concern.

The credibility and independence of external legal counsel are the biggest motivations for seeking third-party assistance with a dispute. Furthermore, the selection of such counsel depends mainly on the additional services and expertise they offer in non-legal areas, ranging from industry-specific advice to tax counseling.

Most companies have more trust in national and regional courts than they did five years ago, but that is not the case for other types of court or arbitration bodies.

Digitalization has made huge strides, with most companies now investing in AI-based risk assessment tools and case management software.

Get in touch

· Eduardo Villellas, Deloitte Global Dispute Resolution Leader – Deloitte Legal

· Mihnea Galgotiu-Sararu, Partner, Reff & Associates (Deloitte Legal Romania)

Did you find this useful?

Yes
No

Thanks for your feedback

If you would like to help improve Deloitte.com further, please complete a 3-minute survey

Your feedback is important to us

To tell us what you think, please update your settings to accept analytics and performance cookies.

Need help updating cookies?

Recommendations

A Matter of Trust: what Chief Legal Officers Should know

As we recover, reopen, and rebuild, it’s time to rethink the importance of Trust. At no time has it been more tested or more valued in our leaders and each other. Trust is all encompassing. Physical. Emotional. Digital. Financial. Ethical.
Perspective
5 minute read
Consulting

Transform your legal operating model for the “next normal”

As hopes of a “return to normal” fade, general counsels and their teams need to re-evaluate how they can support the business in the “new normal”, identify the demands and opportunities they face, and put together the business case for change.
Perspective
5 minute read
Consulting

Legal Technology Transformation: Going beyond risk and compliance

Deloitte 2018 technology study Enabling the legal function to embrace digital transformation
Perspective
5 minute read
Consulting

Six important legal M&A considerations during the global pandemic

The merger and acquisitions (M&A) market has been hit severely by the COVID-19 crisis. Even though it is far from clear how long the crisis will last and what effects it will have—it is already possible to identify changes and foresee certain developments. Deloitte Legal recommends that business leaders should carefully monitor these trends.
Perspective
5 minute read
Consulting