Ever since last year's economic free fall, law firms have engaged in a robust debate over the extent to which the recession would trigger new litigation work - potentially a fresh source of revenue for otherwise strapped firms.

Some firms reported sharp increases, while others said the results had been underwhelming.

Now a survey by a prominent national law firm of the heads of legal departments at some of the nation's largest public and private companies suggests that litigation-practice groups will be busy for some time to come.

The firm, Fulbright & Jaworkski L.L.P., surveyed the legal departments of 392 companies in the United States and the United Kingdom. Nearly half the U.S. respondents said they were preparing for a spike in litigation, compared with 32 percent last year.

Fully half the respondents in the financial-services industry, embroiled as it is in federal probes and shareholder lawsuits over the market free fall, said they expected to see an increase.

"Generally, litigation rises in an economic downturn as regulators tend to step up enforcement, laid-off workers head to court, and companies need to file more suits in order to collect on money that is owed," said Stephen Dillard, head of Fulbright's global litigation practice. Fulbright is a 1,000-lawyer firm, founded in Houston, with offices throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

Overall, companies reported that they would spend more to sue competitors or defend themselves in lawsuits than they did last year.

As the recession deepened last year and law firms struggled to make their budgets, many lawyers said that increased billable hours from litigation and bankruptcy work would help offset a drop in transactional work. Others said that companies, seeking to cut costs, would go to court less. It would appear that debate has been settled.

Alan Hoffman, cochairman of Center City's Blank Rome L.L.P., said the survey results tracked with what he had seen.

"Our litigation practice has been exceedingly busy," Hoffman said.

He said that clients increasingly were seeking alternatives to hourly billing rates, such as fixed fees or payments based on whether the firm achieves a successful result.

Hoffman said that many companies were seeking to spend less, but that did not necessarily mean they were involved in fewer legal disputes.

In many cases, they are litigating as much or more, but seeking to reduce costs through alternative fee arrangements, he said.