Ask corporate counsel if they expect more, less or the same level of litigation in the New Year, and there’s always a pessimistic group that expects more.

Typically, about 25% of inhouse lawyers say so, yet that rate rose to 35% in a survey released Wednesday by Norton Rose Fulbright, which surveyed nearly 300 corporate counsel about 2019 litigation trends. The increase is significant to partner Saul Perloff of San Antonio: He hasn’t seen such a big spike in a while, he said, noting he’s been involved with the survey for 14 of the 15 years his firm has released it.