CLM Defense Counsel Study · Third editionLive Survey opens November 9

The 2027 CLM Defense Counsel Study

Commissioned by the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance and conducted by Suite 200 Solutions. The study gives defense firms and the litigation executives who retain them current data on where their relationship stands.

This edition arrives at a decisive moment. Plaintiff firms are scaling with AI and outside capital, verdicts keep climbing, carriers are rethinking panels, rates, and billing guidelines, and private equity is beginning to reshape how defense firms are owned and run. Defense counsel feel every one of these pressures, yet their view rarely reaches the people who decide how defense work is valued. This is the defense bar's chance to be heard, in its own words, by the claim and litigation leaders who retain it.

For insurance defense attorneysLive

Make your voice heard.

~800: defense attorneys answered the 2020 and 2024 editions. Add your perspective to the record.
Private: Participation is anonymous, and everything you provide is strictly confidential.
On stage: Findings go before the industry's claim and litigation leaders at the CLM Annual Conference, San Diego, March 2027.

Take the survey

Know a colleague who should weigh in? Forward the study

Steering committee

Shaped by 43 of the industry's leaders

Ten litigation executives from leading carriers and TPAs and the leaders of 33 defense firms guided the questions, framing, and priorities of this study. Their counsel is what makes it a study of the industry, by the industry.

10Litigation executives

33Defense firm leaders

Meet the steering committeeEvery member, title, and organization

Study sponsors

Backed by firms that invest in our industry

This study would not be possible without the generous underwriting support of the following industry-leading organizations.

Findings release · March 2027

Findings will be unveiled at the CLM Annual Conference in San Diego, then published here as a Report of Findings.

What the study will ask

The study builds on the 2020 and 2024 editions and ties directly to the work of the CLM's Litigation Management Task Force.

01What defines value in today's litigation management environment?
02How do attorneys view the way their performance is assessed and rewarded?
03How can firms and attorneys create competitive distinction?
04What is the state of attorneys' relationships with litigation executives today?
05What do attorneys see as their greatest challenges in the current environment?

Prior editions

2024The 2024 CLM Defense Counsel StudyAlmost 400 defense attorneys 2020The 2020 CLM Defense Counsel Study400 defense attorneys · 80+ questions

Sponsorship

Defense firms and technology and service providers can underwrite the study.

Sponsorship is arranged through the CLM. Contact Jeremy Campbell, Vice President of Partnerships.

jeremy.campbell@theclm.org

Questions about the study itself: study@suite200solutions.com