A new report from Alix Partners reveals mounting concern over cyber threats, AI regulation and financial crime as businesses brace for increased litigation exposure.
Nearly-two thirds of senior US legal and compliance executives expect corporate disputes to increase over the next year, amid mounting concern that artificial intelligence, cyberattacks and geopolitical instability are creating a risk environment that businesses are struggling to manage. The findings, published in the 2026 US Risk Survey from consultancy AlixPartners, paint a picture of corporate anxiety across an expanding spectrum of corporate risk, with respondents repeatedly acknowledging that their organisations remain underprepared for some of the most serious threats they face.
The survey, conducted in February 2026 and based on responses from 500 senior executives in legal, compliance and risk roles at US-headquartered companies, found that 63% expected corporate disputes to rise over the next 12 months as economic volatility, regulatory fragmentation and rapid technological change fuel new litigation risks.
Executives anticipate continued growth in shareholder claims, contract disputes, intellectual property litigation and data privacy actions, with the accelerating adoption of AI and cryptocurrencies creating further avenues for disputes. The report also points to a likely increase in class actions as some US states tighten laws governing AI, labour and data protection while federal enforcement priorities evolve.
Cybersecurity incidents emerged as the single greatest concern for respondents. A total of 65% identified cyber incidents as one of the most concerning risks facing their organisation in the coming year, up sharply from 49% in 2025, while 58% cited data privacy as a leading concern. Yet despite those concerns, fewer than half of respondents said they felt “very prepared” to deal with cyber threats. Only 48% considered their organisations highly prepared for cybersecurity incidents, while 52% said the same about data privacy risks.
The report suggests that the emergence of AI-powered cyberattacks is compounding the problem. The proportion of respondents identifying AI-enabled attacks as a top cybersecurity concern doubled year-on-year, rising to 34% from 17% in 2025. However, nearly three-quarters said their organisations had still not completed system upgrades designed to address such threats.
AI also featured prominently as a source of regulatory and compliance uncertainty. Eight in 10 respondents said the development of US federal AI policy posed strategic risk to their compliance efforts because of what the report described as an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape.
The survey highlights tension between the Trump administration’s ‘innovation-first’ approach to AI oversight and the more prescriptive regimes emerging elsewhere, particularly in the EU and individual US states. Nearly half of respondents lack key AI governance structures, including AI committees, board-level engagement or dedicated AI leadership roles.
Financial crime preparedness also appears to be rather weak. Fewer than half of respondents, 48%, said they felt “very prepared” to address financial crime and fraud in 2026, despite increasing disquiet about increasingly sophisticated criminal techniques and the expanding use of AI by fraudsters.
At the same time, confidence in risk-detection technologies dropped sharply. The proportion of respondents who regard their risk technologies as “very effective” fell to 36% from 56% the previous year, a decline the report characterises as evidence of an escalating technological arms race between corporations and increasingly sophisticated criminal actors.
The report also identifies significant gaps in corporate readiness surrounding sanctions and geopolitical disruption. Only 35% of respondents said they were “very prepared” for potential changes in sanctions regimes, down from 44% a year earlier, despite continuing geopolitical tensions and active enforcement by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Meanwhile, the growing corporate adoption of cryptocurrency was identified as another emerging vulnerability. A majority of respondents, 59%, said their organisations were either already using cryptocurrency for payments and transactions or actively testing use cases. However, fewer than half had implemented escalation procedures or third-party risk assessments for fintech and banking-as-a-service partners.
In a statement accompanying the report, AlixPartners partner and managing director Sean Dowd said the findings “offer an important signal for C‑suites and their boards”.