Legal risks to business revealed in new survey

Global consulting firm AlixPartners has today launched its inaugural 2025 Global Risk Survey, gathering insights from 1,000 senior executives predominantly from the financial services, technology, and manufacturing sectors. With contributions from 300 executives in the US, the survey highlights the critical risks being faced by businesses amid ongoing economic uncertainty. A complete breakdown of the data is available at the firm’s dedicated link.

As the threat of an economic downturn looms, an alarming 61% of organizations indicate they are ill-equipped to tackle critical risks, categorising their readiness from "somewhat prepared" to "not prepared at all." This lack of confidence extends to several pressing areas, including:

• Financial crime. Over 60% believe financial crime will increase in the next 12 months. Sixty-three percent are investing in technology to combat it—yet only 44% say their technology is very effective at detecting and analyzing risk factors.

• Regulatory. The majority of organizations are insufficiently prepared to adapt to international (71%), national (64%), and local (58%) regulatory changes. And with the sanctions landscape in flux, only about a third feel sufficiently prepared to respond to potential changes.

• Technology. More than 60% of organizations are not adequately prepared to address cybersecurity incidents, data privacy breaches, and keep pace with technological advancements. When it comes to AI, almost all (93%) are implementing AI into their business operations—but only about half have an AI leader or AI policies and guidance in place.

• Litigation. Nearly 70% believe corporate litigation will increase in 2025. Among those who expect litigation to grow by more than 10%, about 6 in 10 plan to raise their outside counsel budget and/or increase engagement with those providers.

Sean Dowd (pictured), Partner and Managing Director at AlixPartners, expresses eagerness to discuss the key takeaways, which demonstrate significant gaps in preparedness and offer benchmarks for regional and industry peers. He notes that as legal, risk, and compliance professionals strive to manage their organizations’ vulnerabilities, the insights from this report will be essential in highlighting crucial business priorities for the upcoming year.

Conducted in February 2025, the survey encompasses responses from professionals across the US, UK, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, providing valuable insights tailored to various regions and industries.