Crowell & Moring Releases 2018 Litigation Forecast: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know for the Coming Year

Washington – January 9, 2018: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce the publication of its “Litigation Forecast 2018: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know for the Coming Year.” The sixth-annual Forecast explores the important litigation trends and challenges that businesses may face in 2018, and it features an in-depth look at how data-driven innovation is driving new opportunities and risks for clients across industries.

The Forecast provides concise, forward-looking perspectives on issues affecting a wide range of companies in seven areas of law: antitrust, environmental, government contracts, intellectual property, labor and employment, torts/product liability, and white collar. There is also special coverage of e-discovery, arbitration, tax, and health care legal trends.

“We are very pleased to release our sixth installment of the Litigation Forecast, which seeks to help corporate counsel identify the hazards ahead and develop a strategy that is dynamic and responsive to protect against vulnerabilities,” said Philip T. Inglima, Crowell & Moring chair. “We also take a significant look at how data-driven innovation is transforming how companies operate within the marketplace and with their customers. While the digital economy has ushered in a new era of economic growth and opportunity, these changes also will drive new risks for corporate legal departments.”

With the development of artificial intelligence (AI), chat bots, the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, and other advances in technology, the cover story, “Data, Data Everywhere,” takes a deep dive into the opportunities and challenges general counsel face in navigating the Big Data revolution. While data is a driver for innovation, the article examines how it also carries new and unintended implications for regulatory enforcement, product liability, cybersecurity, and intellectual property.

The report also takes a look at IP trends and how the TC Heartland case, in particular, has reshaped the patent litigation landscape. A second article focuses on the copyright challenges surrounding 3D printing. There is also a compelling discussion outlining how several state attorneys general are partnering with the plaintiffs’ bar to litigate issues that were typically resolved through regulation. Among the additional stories in the report, the article on the increased use of external compliance monitors in Department of Justice enforcement resolutions underscores for general counsel how monitors can sometimes create additional challenges for the companies they aim to help. Finally, an infographic features a jurisdictional analysis of how litigation is shaping up nationwide; breakouts include: time to trial, the most favorable courts, and other data trends of complex litigation by venue.

Articles from the Forecast are available at www.crowell.com/litigationforecast. Follow the conversation on Twitter with #LitigationForecast, and look for our 2018 Regulatory Forecast coming soon.

About Crowell & Moring’s Litigation Group

Crowell & Moring’s Litigation Group is known for handling high-stakes, bet-the-company litigation. The group’s litigators handle numerous types of disputes, including fraud, breach of contract, business tort, class action, and financial services litigation. With a powerful group of trial lawyers located across the United States and Europe, we handle litigation across a variety of industries, including health care, technology, hotels and hospitality, financial services, transportation (auto, railroad, and airlines), telecommunications, and chemical manufacturing, among others.

About Crowell & Moring LLP

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with approximately 500 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity. The firm has offices in Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, London, and Brussels.