Legal departments also anticipate rising internal requests for support and that more of their time will be taken up with employment disputes and human resources compliance matters this year.
The survey, sponsored by Kingsley Napley, was conducted online among 50 general counsel and senior legal professionals at companies with substantial UK operations.
Three-quarters of respondents expect disputes and litigation to increase in the next one to two years, 68% predict a rise in credit risk and debt recovery work, and nearly half expect their fraud-related workload to grow in the next one to two years.
More than half anticipate they will be dealing with more day-to-day legal requests from other internal departments, 46% predict an increase in employment disputes, and 39% think human resources compliance work will increase in the next one to two years.
However, 39% said they do not feel adequately prepared or are unsure if they are ready to deal with this extra work.
Louise Hodges, head of criminal litigation and investigations at Kingsley Napley, said: ‘General counsel should urgently conduct a “downturn health check” to assess whether their functions have the right processes and resources in place to cope with the new landscape we find ourselves in.
‘Training, technology and external support should all be part of this risk review.’
Richard Foss, head of dispute resolution at Kingsley Napley, said the study should be ‘a wake-up call for in-house legal teams.
‘Although litigation is largely reactive, there are steps that can be taken to minimise risks and ensure the right processes are in place to deal with disputes that arise. For example, companies should review their approach to fraud prevention.’
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