This article features litigation insight from ALM's Trend Detection, a proprietary system which uncovers shifts and patterns in case filings using advanced data analysis. Trend Detection is included with Law.com Radar as part of a Law.com subscription; sign up and be the first to know about new litigation trends surfaced by ALM's exclusive system.

As 2023 comes to an end, we're looking back at significant litigation trends surfaced by Law.com Radar. These trends drew our attention because they test new legal theories, tie into broader economic developments or take aim at emerging technologies and have the potential to shape new law. Based on those factors, here are the top five litigation trends we spotted in 2023, as well as a few areas to keep an eye on in 2024.

  1. Cybersecurity

Waves of litigation were filed this year on behalf of customers, patients and employees as hackers launched more sophisticated cyberattacks to obtain sensitive info such as addresses, banking credentials and Social Security numbers. Individual companies were routinely targeted, but some of the biggest cases emerged from attacks against third-party vendors, such as an exploitation of the file transfer program MOVEit, which affected more than 2,500 organizations.