When you think about the 10 most litigious countries in the world, many people would immediately think of the United States of America (US). However, the Land of the Free only comes in at number 5. Germany is the top nation in the world for litigious behaviour. Sweden comes in at number 2, Israel is at number 3, and Austria number 4. The field is rounded out in this order: The United Kingdom (UK) at number 6; Denmark at number 7; Hungary number 8; Portugal at number 9; and France at number 10.
Top Global Litigious Business Environments
According to the Norton Rose Fulbright’s 2015 Litigation Trends Annual Survey, which was conducted by Acritas, respondents in the USA did report a more litigious business environment than their peers located in other nations. The President of the US, Donald Trump sets the trend in this regard. Figures indicate that 55% of US businesses had more than 5 lawsuits filed against their companies in the previous 12 months. This compares with 23% of companies in the UK and 22% of companies in Australia. In the UK, cross-border disputes are on the increase, with regulatory legal disputes featuring prominently. 48% of respondents in the UK had been involved in litigation involving these issues.
Litigious Behaviour in Australia
We cannot deny that we live in an increasing litigious world, where more and more people are choosing this pathway to sort out their disputes. This can be clearly seen with compensation litigation having expanded even to the most remote city on the planet in Perth, Western Australia. According to US management liability specialist, Kevin LaCroix, he claims that Australia is probably the second most litigious country in the world. LaCroix was a keynote speaker at an Australian Professional Indemnity Group’s conference in Sydney in 2016.
Lawyer Numbers Per Capita
It is interesting to look at the data concerning lawyer numbers in a selection of nations globally. In the USA there is 1 lawyer for every 300 people. In Brazil it is 1 lawyer per 326 people, in New Zealand 1 lawyer per 391 people, in Spain 1 per 395 people, the UK 1 lawyer per 401 people, Italy 1 per 488, Germany 1 per 593, and in France 1 per 1, 403 people. Although, the correlation between more lawyers and higher rates of litigious behaviour are not absolutely clear cut, there is definitely a relationship. What is crystal clear, is that compensation lawyers will not be wasting away due to lack of work any time soon, globally.
