June 4, 2024
Certum Group’s 2023 Litigation Risk Survey Results

What is the survey about?
- Certum Group, which provides bespoke risk transfer solutions for companies facing the uncertainty of litigation, has released the results from its second annual survey to understand how companies and in-house departments assess and manage litigation risk.
Who participated in the survey?
- Almost 100 respondents hailed from corporate legal department across 23 states and 35 different industry sectors.
- Moreover, we had a great mix of lawyers that came from small, midsized, and large companies so we were able to elicit a diverse range of viewpoints and provide a benchmark for how in-house counsel are assessing and managing litigation risk in the current market.
- Specifically, 27 % were from public companies, 58 % from private for profit companies and the rest from non profits.
What did the survey tell us about legal department staffing?
- In terms of resources – in house departments – even at larger companies are operating with small staffs and tight budgets. General counsel and their staffs are being stretched thin by increasing workloads.
- Almost 75 % said their legal departments had fewer than 10 employees. That may be adequate for the smallest companies, however, 40 % of our respondents work for companies with over 1,000 employees.
If staffing pressures are up are budget pressures at least down?
- Unfortunately, the answer is NO. In house department are currently facing both staffing and budget pressures.
- Almost 50% of respondents said their budgets are less than $1MM and only 10% said they more than $20MM.
- Moreover, over 40% reported budget cuts over the past year which came at the same time having increased workloads.
Can we expect to find form survey results in future video blogs?
- Yes, please look for more video blogs where we discuss other findings from the survey. Future episodes will cover topics such as: selecting outside counsel, the use of AFAs, leveraging litigation risk transfer products such as litigation insurance and funding, and pursuing affirmative litigation in order to turn in house departments from cost to profit center.
Download your free copy of the report today!
The post Certum Group’s 2023 Litigation Risk Survey Results appeared first on Certum Group.
Recent Content

By Certum Team
•
March 5, 2026
Above the Law, a leading blog focused on the legal industry, recently highlighted Certum Group’s litigation finance fellowship, noting the opportunity for law students and business students to gain “a four-week, hands-on immersion in what it actually looks like when capital meets complex litigation.” “To succeed, lawyers need to understand not only doctrine but also finance. Law schools are beginning to reflect that shift, and students want to understand it,” Certum’s William Marra told Above the Law. “Our Summer Fellowship is about opening that door for both law and business students, and giving them meaningful exposure to the capital side of litigation.” Applications for the fellowship are due on March 31, 2026, and should include a resume, law school transcript, and a brief 250-word statement of interest. Applications should be sent to SummerFellowship@CertumGroup.com . Above the Law’s coverage is available here , and Certum’s application page for the fellowship is available here .

By Certum Group
•
March 2, 2026
For the third consecutive year, Certum Group will host one or more summer fellows, introducing accomplished law students and business students to the growing field of litigation finance. The Certum Group Litigation Finance Fellowship provides top law students with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the rapidly growing fields of litigation finance and litigation insurance. Fellows will evaluate litigation funding submissions, draft memoranda analyzing legal and damages issues, help structure and negotiate funding agreements, and contribute to marketing and business development initiatives. They will work closely with Certum’s experienced team of litigation finance, litigation insurance, and investment professionals. Throughout the program, Fellows will develop a practical understanding of how claimholders, law firms, insurers, and capital providers assess litigation risk — and how capital can be deployed as a strategic tool in complex disputes. Further information about the fellowship and instructions about how to apply are available here.

By Certum Group
•
February 24, 2026
Columbia Law School’s blog on corporations and the public markets, The CLS Blue Sky Blog, recently featured the scholarly work on litigation finance written by Indiana University Business School Professor Suneal Bedi and Certum’s William C. Marra. In their blog post, Bedi and Marra discuss their article Litigation Finance in the Market Square , which was recently published in the Southern California Law Review. Their work reframes litigation finance as a capital markets innovation rather than solely a civil justice mechanism. While much of the public debate has centered on questions of disclosure, control, and settlement incentives, Bedi and Marra emphasize that legal claims often represent significant but illiquid contingent assets on a firm’s balance sheet. When policymakers regulate litigation finance, they are regulating not just the legal business but the capital markets. And they are regulating capital markets in a way that is more likely to harm small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) while protecting large companies from competition. The full blog post is available here.
