1、Thomson Reuters Institute 2023 State of the Corporate Law DepartmentA year defined by managing risk,mitigating litigation,and controlling costs Thomson Reuters 20232023 State of the Corporate Law Department 2“Do more with less”has become a near eye-roll-inducing clich among corporate law departments

2、.Yet it also remains a daily reality for many corporate general counsel,and a frequent topic of conversation among in-house legal professionals.And it is,indeed,a very apropos conversation.Research from the Thomson Reuters Institute has found that 65%of corporate law departments are experiencing inc

3、reasing matter volumes,while 59%are dealing with flat if not decreasing budgets.1 This increase in levels of matter volume is being driven by growing global regulatory complexity,along with fallout appurtenant to the global economic slowdown.As a result,even at a time when pressure to control outsid

4、e counsel costs remains high,corporate law departments,by and large,anticipate increasing legal spend across practices,global regions,and industry sectors.Key Findings Compliance with changing global regulatory developments has become the top priority for many law departments Managing and mitigating

5、 their companies overall risk and cost is a key component to departments broader cost-control strategies Overall,far more law departments anticipate an increase in their legal spend in the coming year than anticipate their spend to decrease Increased legal spend is a common trend across nearly every

6、 global region,key practice area,and industry sector There is growing evidence of corporate law departments shifting work among outside law firms as a way of managing costs and optimizing the value and cost effectiveness they are receiving The increasing complexity of global regulations is a main dr