Corporate attorneys are bracing themselves for a busy year, according to one of the key findings of the sixth annual litigation trends report by Fulbright & Jaworski LLP.

Of the 276 U.S. companies that participated in this year’s survey, 42 percent expect an increase in the number of legal disputes their companies will face over the next 12 months.

Why the run-up in litigation? It’s the economy, say officials with Houston-based Fulbright.

“Generally, litigation rises in an economic downturn, as regulators tend to step up enforcement, laid-off workers head to court and companies need to file more suits in order to collect on money owed,” says Stephen C. Dillard, who heads up Fulbright’s global litigation practice.

The 2009 litigation trends survey was conducted from May through July of 2009 and it covers litigation practices over the prior 12-month period.

Fulbright & Jaworski hired Houston-based research firm Greenwood Associates to conduct the survey. Greenwood polled general or deputy general counsels at 276 U.S. companies to compile the report.

Eighty-three percent of U.S. survey participants responded to new litigation against their companies during the current survey period. This up from 79 percent of survey participants who reported new litigation against their firms in the 2008 survey.

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