Litigation Readiness Tool, Litigation Readiness Tool
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Section 1
1. What is your job title?
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Chief Legal Officer
Head of Litigation
General Counsel
Legal Professional
Chief Risk Officer
Head of Risk
Chief Compliance Officer
Head of Compliance
Functional Head (e.g., HR/People, Tax, IP, etc.)
Other
2. In which jurisdiction are you based?
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US
Mexico
Brazil
Germany
Japan
Hong Kong
Singapore
United Kingdom
Other
3. What is the annual revenue of your organization (in USD)?
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Under $500m
Between $600m and $1bn
Between $2bn and $10bn
Between $11bn and $25bn
Between $26bn and $50bn
$51bn+
4. In which sector does your organization operate?
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Industrials, Manufacturing & Transportation
Consumer Goods & Retail
Energy, Mining & Infrastructure
Financial Institutions
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Technology, Media & Telecoms
Other
5. To what extent are you involved in litigation in your organization – including planning/preparing for litigation and coordinating a response to class actions, lawsuits, subpoenas and other legal demands?
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Select one
I have an oversight role – I am accountable for litigation in my organization.
I have a key role – managing and coordinating my organization’s approach to litigation is a material part of my job.
I have a supporting role – my organization’s approach to litigation is not directly within my job remit but I am often involved in litigation planning and/or response.
I have no role in litigation for my organization.
6. Please estimate the financial cost of litigation to your organization last year (including both your legal spend on litigation-related attorney fees and costs, as well as settlements, judgments and awards)
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Select one
Under $5m
Between $6m and $10m
Between $11m and $50m
Between $51m and $100m
Between $101m and $500m
$501m+
Unknown/not sure
Section 2: Litigation Infrastructure
1. Does your organization have a litigation team, dedicated to planning for and responding to litigation risks?
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Select one
Yes – we have a dedicated litigation team.
To some extent – we have individuals with some responsibility for litigation in the business.
No – we don’t have this capability in-house.
2. Does this litigation team consult with representatives from across the organization, including IT, communications, HR, compliance, records and management when planning for and responding to litigation risks?
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Yes – our team regularly consults with others when planning for and responding to litigation risks.
To some extent – we draw in specific functions when needed.
No – litigation risk is owned by the legal department or business unit only.
3. Does your organization manage litigation risk at a global level?
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Yes – litigation risks are evaluated and managed across multiple jurisdictions.
To some extent – some litigation risks are managed globally.
No – we prefer to take a local approach.
Section 3: Access to Information
1. Does your organization have a clear map of its internal systems and sources of documents and data?
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Yes – we have an up-to-date understanding of our key data sources.
To some extent – we have not recently mapped our data.
No – we have not mapped our data.
2. Does your organization have access to personnel trained in proper eDiscovery procedures, who are able to support litigation matters?
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Yes – we have an in-house team trained in eDiscovery and lean on external counsel for additional support.
To some extent – we have access to some capability internally.
No – we don’t have access to specialists trained in eDiscovery.
3. Does your organization evaluate in advance the provisions governing its litigation options (such as forum-selection clauses, choice-of-law provisions, class action waivers and arbitration provisions) in its material contracts and agreements?
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Yes – we evaluate these terms in advance and include appropriate contractual provisions to ensure we are able to respond effectively in the event of litigation.
To some extent – we sometimes evaluate contractual provisions relating to litigation in advance.
No – we don’t consider contractual provisions relating to litigation in advance.
4. Are your organization’s employees aware of the company’s document preservation obligations in the event of litigation – what information must be preserved and how?
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Yes – we provide clear information and training to all employees regarding document preservation obligations and have not experienced any issues in practice.
To some extent – we provide information to employees but I am unsure how well this is understood, as we have experienced issues in which documents have not been preserved.
No – our employees are not aware of document preservation obligations.
Section 4: Coordinating a Response to Litigation
1. Does your organization train employees on what they should do when they become aware of litigation or face a litigation threat, including how to escalate an issue to the relevant individuals or team internally?
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Select one
Yes – we provide training to all employees, including sharing policies, practical examples and scenario-based training, and run regular refresher sessions.
To some extent – we provide policy documents and some training, but this is not regularly reinforced.
No – we don’t have specific employee training on escalating disputes.
2. Does your organization train employees to recognize and protect privileged information?
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Yes – we provide training to all employees, including sharing practical examples and scenario-based training, and run regular refresher sessions.
To some extent – we provide some training, but this is not regularly reinforced.
No – we don’t have specific employee training on privileged information.
3. Does your organization have litigation response procedures and protocols in place, including IT protocols for the preservation of data and a template litigation hold notice that can be issued promptly in the event of a litigation notification, lawsuit or other legal demand?
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Yes – we have a litigation response plan that allows us to mobilize quickly, including procedures designed to identify data custodians and witnesses and preserve relevant data in an efficient and coordinated manner.
To some extent – we have a process in place to manage the response, but it is not always possible to mobilize quickly.
No – we have no defined organization-wide process for responding to litigation and develop our response when a new lawsuit is filed or threatened.
4. Does your organization take measures to ensure that former employees remain available to assist in possible future litigation?
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Yes – we always include cooperation provisions in separation agreements with key employees and take practical measures to preserve positive relationships with former employees.
To some extent – we have a mechanism, where possible, to retain access to key employees whose participation would be critical in significant pending or future litigation.
No – we don’t have any defined processes or procedures for contacting or retaining access to former employees.
Section 5: Planning for Future Litigation
1. Does your organization monitor complaints against the company and other litigation triggers as part of litigation planning?
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Yes – we consistently monitor complaints for litigation risk and have a clear understanding of our most common litigation triggers.
To some extent – we attempt to monitor complaints for litigation risk and have a reasonable understanding of our most common litigation triggers.
No – we do not monitor complaints for litigation risk or other litigation triggers.
2. Does your organization track litigation trends in your industry? (These could include consumer class actions, IP enforcement, data privacy, employment class actions, antitrust, changes in tax public policy or other risks).
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Yes – we map relevant litigation trends in detail and leverage this information for our own litigation planning.
To some extent – we have a broad picture of relevant litigation trends but tend not to leverage this information for our own litigation planning.
No – we have little understanding of relevant litigation trends.
3. Does your organization strategize and plan for the cost of litigation (for example, developing template litigation budgets and reporting protocols for outside counsel, negotiating discounts and alternative fee arrangements, engaging “coordinating counsel” to manage recurring claims, etc.)?
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Select one
Yes – we proactively manage this cost base and anticipate risk where possible to provide cost certainty.
To some extent – we try to monitor and manage this but find that the cost of litigation frequently escalates.
No – we don’t have a cost containment strategy for litigation.
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