Crowell & Moring recently published its Litigation Forecast 2013. This report explores critical litigation issues, provides concise, forward-looking perspectives on trends, and identifies cases to watch in ten areas of law affecting a wide range of companies and industries in 2013 and beyond. The report includes a discussion of significant e-discovery developments, focusing on the increasing assertion of spoliation claims in complex cases and the risks arising from changing and even inconsistent spoliation standards. The e-discovery discussion also notes the impact of developing technologies, including technology-assisted review (or predictive coding), cloud computing, and social media.

The Litigation Forecast 2013 is not a survey, year-end review, or white paper. Rather, it identifies significant trends expected to affect litigation in 2013 and provides practical, up-to-date information regarding those trends. This report is designed for clients.

Corporate legal departments are under increasing pressure to cut cost and reduce risk in the new economic climate. Understanding what the litigation landscape looks like today and tomorrow is key to effectively managing risk and preparing for — or even better, avoiding — litigation. The Litigation Forecast 2013 is intended to help corporate counsel achieve this critical understanding across a variety of litigation areas, including e-discovery.