Growing data privacy concerns have influenced the legal field, according to a recent survey by Norton Rose Fulbright. Forty percent of respondents said their exposure to cybersecurity and data protection disputes increased in 2023, with that area also topping the list of 2024 litigation concerns amid mounting challenges posed by data management and artificial intelligence (AI).

Questions surrounding AI’s role in patent inventorship, copyright ownership and fair use cases are also expected to fuel intellectual property dispute exposure in the year ahead. Nearly half of respondents expect that increased use of AI technology will deepen their vulnerability to such litigation in 2024.

Other key areas of concern include regulatory proceedings, class actions and environmental, social and governance (ESG) litigation. Sixty-one percent of respondents were involved in at least one regulatory proceeding in 2023, compared to 50% in 2022. The share of organizations involved in bank and financial fraud class actions more than doubled and nearly one-third of respondents are concerned about securities class actions in 2024.

Read the full report here.