But litigation spending is not rising because companies are suddenly facing a flood of new lawsuits. Matters are becoming more complex, more consequential and more embedded in business operations. That is what is driving the budget curve upward.
Recent commentary from leading litigation chairs in an article published by The AmLaw Litigation Daily describes 2026 as the year of “more:” more cross-border disputes, more technology-driven claims and more matters strategically tied to business risk. As Latham & Watkins’ Michele Johnson observed, litigation planning is now part of the daily calculus of doing business.
This shift changes how litigation is budgeted, managed and evaluated. Corporate clients increasingly value law firms that can:
- Move quickly in the earliest stages of a dispute
- Deliver strategic framing, not just legal analysis
- Use technology to accelerate insight
These expectations are reshaping both the economics of litigation and the technology firms rely on to deliver results.
AI Is Changing Litigation Economics — on Both Sides
Artificial intelligence is no longer experimental in litigation. It is reshaping how cases are developed, analyzed and prosecuted.
On the plaintiff side, AI lowers barriers to entry. In the AmLaw Litigation Daily article, Boris Feldman of Freshfields weighs in, noting that tools that analyze public filings, earnings calls and market movements can identify potential claims faster and more systematically than ever before. What once required weeks of associate time can now take minutes. That capability may increase filing volume, particularly in areas like securities and consumer litigation.
AI is reshaping pace and expectations, but it is not eliminating cost. Instead, it is concentrating spend on higher-value strategic work.
On the defense side, AI compresses time. Chronology building, document analysis, witness preparation and issue clustering can be accelerated dramatically. But faster analysis does not necessarily mean lower overall spend. Instead, it shifts effort toward higher-value work: refining case themes, pressure-testing strategy and preparing for trial.
AI also raises the bar. When one firm can synthesize thousands of documents overnight, others must follow. Competitive advantage increasingly depends not on whether a firm uses AI, but on how seamlessly it integrates into litigation workflows.
The result is not cheaper litigation. It is more strategically intensive litigation.
Trial Risk and Cross-Border Complexity Are Driving Higher Per-Matter Costs
While AI increases efficiency in certain areas, other factors are pushing per-matter costs upward. Noting an upward trend in large-scale trials, Jim Rouhandeh of Davis Polk & Wardwell reports in the article that clients are showing a greater willingness to try high-stakes matters rather than settle reflexively. That requires deeper preparation, stronger expert collaboration and more sophisticated presentation capabilities.
At the same time, disputes are increasingly cross-border. Regulatory regimes overlap. Data privacy laws vary. Evidence is stored across jurisdictions and platforms. Each additional layer of regulatory exposure increases coordination demands and strategic risk.
Technology-driven claims add further complexity. Cybersecurity incidents, AI governance disputes and ESG-related litigation require both legal and technical fluency. Litigation teams must synthesize structured and unstructured data, expert analysis and regulatory frameworks into clear, persuasive narratives. In this environment, cost is driven less by volume than complexity — and complexity demands better tools.
General Counsel Are Shifting from Reactive Defense to Proactive Readiness
Perhaps the most significant change is happening inside corporate legal departments. General counsel are no longer treating litigation as episodic. Instead, litigation exposure is increasingly integrated into enterprise risk management. That means earlier involvement of outside counsel, more rigorous early case assessment and greater scrutiny of strategy.
Clients want:
- Data-driven early case evaluations
- Clear risk modeling and scenario planning
- Visibility into case progress
- Technology that enables collaboration and transparency
Firms that can provide these capabilities are better positioned to deepen client relationships. They cannot risk appearing reactive.
Technology Integration Now Defines Competitive Advantage
High-stakes matters require tools that can synthesize complex evidence, support collaboration between litigation teams and experts and enable integrated trial presentation with real-time annotation. Fragmented systems no longer suffice. Firms increasingly want seamless data flow across tools. They need platforms that can:
- Integrate eDiscovery outputs directly into case strategy workflows
- Cluster issues intelligently
- Surface connections between witnesses, events and documents
- Streamline deposition designations
- Support dynamic trial preparation rather than static document sets
The firms gaining advantage are not necessarily those with the most AI tools. They are the ones with litigation ecosystems. Integration reduces friction. It shortens the distance between raw data and strategic insight. It allows legal teams to focus on narrative development rather than manual synthesis.
As litigation spend shifts toward matters with greater business impact, clients are prioritizing technology environments that enable better decisions. For high-stakes disputes, the tools of the future must handle complex evidence synthesis, facilitate expert collaboration and support cohesive trial presentation — all within a unified platform.
Time saved on switching between tools, surfacing facts and reviewing documents becomes time reinvested in persuasion.
Litigation budgets are rising because litigation risk is rising. Matters are more complex, more global, more technology-driven and more embedded in business operations. AI is reshaping pace and expectations, but it is not eliminating cost. Instead, it is concentrating spend on higher-value strategic work.
General counsel are demanding earlier insight, greater transparency and stronger collaboration. Firms that respond with integrated, AI-enhanced litigation platforms will differentiate themselves. Firms that rely on disconnected systems will struggle to keep pace.
In 2026 and beyond, competitive advantage in litigation will not hinge on who has the largest team — but on who has the clearest strategy, supported by technology that enables smarter decisions from day one.
