Litigation exposure is increasing faster than many organizations anticipated in 2026. The change is most visible in cybersecurity, data privacy, artificial intelligence, employment, and class action matters. Areas where disputes can quickly expand across federal and state jurisdictions.
For corporate counsel and litigation teams, this trend has a direct operational consequence: more disputes create more witness testimony, more depositions, more remote proceedings, and more pressure to maintain a complete and reliable record.
The written record is no longer a routine byproduct of litigation. It is a strategic asset that may be reviewed by trial counsel, opposing parties, regulators, appellate courts, and future litigants. Accuracy, consistency, and accessibility are essential.
The 2026 Risk Environment Is Expanding
Norton Rose Fulbright’s 2026 Annual Litigation Trends Survey: A midyear industry pulse draws on responses from 135 U.S.-based corporate counsel across energy, financial institutions, healthcare, and technology.
The survey identifies several areas of increased exposure:
- Cybersecurity and data privacy: 56% of respondents report increased federal exposure, while 53% report increased state exposure.
- Artificial intelligence: 46% report increased federal exposure, and 42% report increased state exposure.
- Employment and labor: 39% report increased federal exposure, while 44% report increased state exposure.
- Class action triggers: 51% identify data or cybersecurity breaches, and 47% identify workforce changes.
- Emerging AI-related exposure: 41% consider AI-enabled product launches and deployments an emerging class action trigger.
These numbers reflect more than isolated legal developments. They show that litigation risk is becoming more distributed across business functions, jurisdictions, and legal theories. A cybersecurity event may lead to privacy claims, consumer litigation, regulatory scrutiny, and employment-related questions. An AI deployment may generate issues involving discrimination, product liability, data governance, consumer protection, and workplace practices.
As the number of potential legal fronts increases, the importance of every deposition increases with it.
More Exposure Means More Demanding Depositions
Depositions are central to fact development, witness evaluation, motion practice, settlement strategy, and trial preparation. In a more complex litigation environment, depositions must address not only what happened, but also how decisions were made, who was involved, which policies applied, and what documentation supports the organization’s position.
Cybersecurity and AI matters often require testimony from witnesses with highly technical responsibilities, including:
- Information security and incident response leaders
- Data privacy officers and compliance personnel
- Software engineers and data scientists
- Product managers and AI governance teams
- Human resources and employment decision-makers
- Executives responsible for risk oversight
These witnesses may be questioned about system architecture, data retention, vendor controls, model development, validation, monitoring, bias mitigation, employee communications, and regulatory reporting. The testimony may also be compared with internal policies, public statements, board materials, incident reports, and prior testimony.
The result is a record that must be precise at every level. A misheard technical term, an unclear speaker identification, or an omitted exchange can complicate review and create avoidable uncertainty.
A professional deposition process gives counsel greater control over that risk. Certified court reporters capture testimony verbatim, manage the flow of the proceeding, clarify interruptions, identify speakers, and provide a dependable transcript for later use.
The standard must be high from the first question through the final exhibit.
The Record May Be Used Across Multiple Proceedings
Multijurisdictional exposure creates a particular challenge for legal teams. A witness may be questioned in a federal case, a state proceeding, a regulatory investigation, or a related class action. The underlying facts may overlap even when the legal claims and participants differ.
That makes consistency essential.
A deposition transcript can become a reference point for:
- Comparing testimony among multiple witnesses
- Evaluating the accuracy of written discovery responses
- Preparing for trial examinations
- Responding to regulatory inquiries
- Supporting or opposing class certification
- Identifying testimony for impeachment
- Building an appellate record
- Coordinating strategy across related matters
When the record is incomplete or difficult to review, counsel must spend additional time reconstructing what occurred. When the record is accurate, searchable, and available in the formats the legal team needs, attorneys can focus on analysis and strategy rather than uncertainty.
This is why complete documentation matters. A written transcript provides the official text of testimony, while legal videography preserves witness demeanor, pauses, body language, and other nonverbal information. Together, these formats create a more comprehensive record for review and presentation.
Our legal videography services are designed to complement the written transcript with professionally captured visual evidence, synchronized video and text, and reliable courtroom playback support.
Technology Supports Accuracy When Professionals Control the Process
Technology has become essential to modern litigation support, but technology alone does not create a reliable legal record. Its value depends on how it is implemented, monitored, and reviewed.
Remote proceedings require careful preparation of audio, video, connectivity, exhibits, participant access, and recording systems. A technical disruption can affect testimony, interrupt the examination, or create gaps in the record. A poorly controlled proceeding can also produce overlapping speech, unclear speaker identification, and audio that is difficult to transcribe.
Our remote court reporting transcript accuracy process addresses these risks through pre-session testing, audio checks, backup recording paths, participant coordination, and active call control. These measures help ensure that remote depositions remain professional, secure, and fully documented.
Technology also supports efficient review after the proceeding. Synchronized video and transcripts allow counsel to move from a specific line of testimony directly to the corresponding video. Realtime reporting can provide immediate access to testimony during a deposition or hearing. Secure file delivery and multi-format documentation help legal teams work efficiently across offices, jurisdictions, and case teams.
The objective is not simply faster delivery. The objective is a stronger record.
Certified Deposition Transcription Remains Essential
AI-assisted tools and automated speech recognition may help produce preliminary text, but legal proceedings require more than an unverified transcript. Technical terminology, names, accents, overlapping speech, legal phrasing, and context can challenge automated systems, particularly in complex cases.
A certified court reporter brings professional judgment, legal training, procedural awareness, and direct accountability to the record. The reporter listens in real time, manages the proceeding, resolves potential ambiguities, and certifies the final transcript according to applicable requirements.
Our deposition transcript process is built around accurate capture, careful review, and dependable delivery. We provide deposition transcription in formats that support case preparation, discovery review, motion practice, trial presentation, and long-term record management.
For additional perspective, our discussion of court reporters and digital recording explains why a recording or automated draft should not be treated as equivalent to a certified transcript. In high-stakes litigation, the distinction is critical.
Readiness Requires Reliable Litigation Support
The survey’s findings reinforce a practical reality: legal teams cannot control every dispute, but they can control the quality of the processes used to prepare for and document those disputes.
That preparation includes:
- Identifying high-risk events and likely witnesses. Data breaches, AI deployments, workforce changes, and regulatory developments should be connected to the people and records most likely to become relevant.
- Preparing for technical testimony. Witnesses should be ready to explain complex systems and decisions in clear, accurate language tied to contemporaneous documentation.
- Coordinating across matters. Related proceedings require careful management of timelines, exhibits, testimony, and transcript review.
- Selecting the right documentation formats. Written transcripts, realtime services, legal videography, synchronized video, and secure delivery each serve a distinct strategic purpose.
- Planning for appellate and future review. The record should remain clear and usable long after the deposition concludes.
Legal teams also need dependable availability. Access to qualified reporting professionals is an important part of litigation readiness. Scheduling constraints should not force counsel to compromise the quality or reliability of the record.
Hanna & Hanna Provides Complete Record Support
Hanna & Hanna Reporting provides comprehensive court reporting and litigation support services for depositions, hearings, trials, arbitrations, and remote proceedings. For more than 30 years, our family-owned firm has delivered certified court reporters, professional legal videography, remote deposition support, video conferencing, realtime reporting, and complete multi-format documentation.
Our team combines certified professionals with advanced technology and responsive client support. Whether your proceeding is conducted in Houston, across Texas, or remotely with participants nationwide, we ensure that every word is captured with precision and every deliverable is managed professionally. For matters that require coordinated scheduling, secure file handling, and end-to-end proceeding management, our trial support approach helps legal teams maintain control from preparation through final delivery.
As litigation exposure continues to rise, the record must remain dependable. We are prepared to provide the accuracy, efficiency, and support your legal team requires. Attorneys managing hybrid or virtual proceedings can also benefit from our remote deposition scheduling process, which is designed to simplify logistics while protecting accuracy and professionalism.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is litigation exposure rising in 2026?
Litigation exposure is rising in 2026 because disputes are increasingly spreading across cybersecurity, data privacy, artificial intelligence, employment, and class action issues at the same time. For corporate counsel and law firms, that means a single event can generate parallel claims, regulatory inquiries, and multijurisdictional testimony demands. As exposure expands, dependable trial support becomes more important because every deposition, transcript, and video record may influence case strategy well beyond the initial proceeding.
What do rising cybersecurity and AI disputes mean for depositions?
Rising cybersecurity and AI disputes make depositions more technical, more document-intensive, and more likely to involve multiple stakeholders. Witnesses may be questioned about incident response, data governance, model development, compliance controls, internal communications, and decision-making processes. This increases the need for precise court reporting, strong exhibit management, and accurate documentation that counsel can review efficiently across teams and jurisdictions.
How can a deposition transcript be used across multiple jurisdictions?
A deposition transcript can support case coordination across federal and state courts, regulatory proceedings, related commercial disputes, and appellate review. Counsel may use the same transcript to compare testimony, assess consistency, prepare motion practice, support witness examination, and preserve the record for future proceedings. When the transcript is accurate, certified, and delivered in usable formats, it becomes a strategic resource rather than a simple administrative file.
Should my firm record depositions on video as well as stenographically?
In many matters, yes. A stenographic transcript remains essential because it provides the certified written record, while video can preserve demeanor, pauses, tone, and other nonverbal details that may matter during trial preparation, impeachment, or presentation. Our legal videography services help firms build a more complete record by pairing professional video capture with a reliable transcript and synchronized review options.
How far ahead should we schedule reporting support for a complex matter?
For a complex matter, it is best to schedule reporting support as early as possible, especially when the case may require multiple deposition dates, remote participants, technical witnesses, videography, realtime services, or specialized coordination. Early scheduling gives your team more flexibility, helps secure the right professionals, and reduces avoidable logistical risk. When timing is critical, our team can help counsel schedule remote depositions in Texas and coordinate support for demanding proceedings efficiently.
Schedule court reporting and litigation support with Hanna & Hanna Reporting to discuss your upcoming deposition or proceeding.