The latest Global Disputes Forecast published by Baker McKenzie indicates that class actions and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) related issues are predicted to fuel a greater volume of dispute work in 2024. While this is the firm’s seventh annual survey, this year’s forecast is based on responses from roughly 600 senior legal and risk leaders hailing from large organizations in the U.K., U.S., Singapore and Brazil.
ESG issues have increasingly become matters of serious concern for global corporations and law firms in recent years, and this trend is reflected in the survey responses. As more stringent ESG regulations emerge around the globe, maintaining compliance is becoming crucially important for corporate bodies. According to the survey, respondents foresee a greater volume of disputes related to these regulations in the near future.
Simultaneously, the report indicates a continued rise in class actions which are expected to contribute significantly to the increasing volume of disputes work in 2024. This augmentation of disputes work has been attributed to a variety of causes, including increasing public awareness of legal rights and remedies, traits inherent to the global digital landscape, and a surge in high stakes class actions.
While the specifics of the survey remain largely inaccessible due to the report being paywalled, a comprehensive review of the survey can be found in the complete original article for those interested in gaining more detailed insights.