Lex Machina 2025 Damage Awards Litigation Report Reveals Dramatic Shifts in Federal Litigation Risks
Federal damage awards hit record highs, with mixed signals on ‘social inflation’ and a surge in jury verdict values.
San Jose, CA, July 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lex Machina®, the LexisNexis® Legal Analytics® platform, today announced the release of its 2025 Damage Awards Litigation Report, providing a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of damage awards in US federal courts from 2015 through 2024.
This annual report reveals key trends impacting litigation strategy, including notable increases in average jury verdicts and shifting risk profiles across practice areas. The report equips law firms, in-house counsel, insurance professionals, and others with unique, data-driven intelligence critical to risk assessment, claim valuation, settlement negotiations, trial strategy, and more.
To request a copy of the report, visit LexisNexis.com/LexMachina.
Key findings from the report include:
- Record-Setting Awards in 2023 and 2024: Each of the past two years saw average damage awards exceed the previous high (set in 2016) by over $1 million in federal courts. For lawyers and corporations, this underscores the growing stakes of going to trial and the importance of data-backed litigation strategy.
- Jury Verdicts on the Rise: Average jury-awarded damages have climbed sharply since 2020 — and that trajectory continues to accelerate. This trend reflects greater unpredictability and higher potential liability in front of juries, making it essential for trial teams to benchmark verdict trends and assess regional or judge-specific risk.
- Inconsistent Judicial Awards: Damage awards from non-jury verdicts have fluctuated without a clear pattern since 2017. This variability introduces complexity in forecasting case outcomes, reinforcing the need for analytics-driven valuation models and tailored settlement strategies.
- Practice Area Variability: High-value claims in areas like patent infringement and trade secret litigation are surging, while environmental statute cases are shrinking in both frequency and value. This divergence highlights shifting legal risk landscapes — making it critical for firms and in-house teams to realign resources and focus on where exposure is rising.
“The Damage Awards Report offers a detailed look at how these awards are trending in federal court. This gives lawyers and their clients practical and actionable insights into how liability risks are shifting in the post-COVID landscape,” said Kyle Turner, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives Law Librarian at Vanderbilt Law.
“Bearing in mind current economic trends, companies and their insurers are uncertain whether litigation is a worthwhile risk to resolve claims made against them. Through powerful litigation data analytics only available in Lex Machina, this report provides invaluable insight into that inquiry,” said Ellen Chen, Legal Data Lead at Lex Machina and editor of the report. “The Damages Report examines various facets of damages trends in recent federal district courts, providing practitioners exhaustive and meaningful analytical damages data that they may utilize to intelligently assess litigation outcomes.”
The Lex Machina Legal Analytics platform equips litigation professionals to win more cases and attract more business. From precise timing metrics that inform legal budgeting to trend data on top law firms and leading judges, Lex Machina uniquely supplements traditional legal research and experience with customized, data-backed insights. These insights help lawyers identify prospective clients, navigate motion and trial strategies, and negotiate smarter settlements, ultimately giving firms a competitive edge in litigation.
About LexisNexis Legal & Professional
LexisNexis® Legal & Professional provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,800 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.
About Lex Machina
Lex Machina fundamentally changes how companies and law firms compete in the business and practice of law. The company provides strategic insights on judges, lawyers, law firms, parties, and other critical information across 22 federal practice areas and a rapidly growing number of state courts. Lex Machina allows law firms and companies to anticipate the behaviors and outcomes that different legal strategies will produce, enabling them to win cases and close business.
Lex Machina was named one of Forbes’ Best Workplaces in the Bay Area in 2024, Winner of the “Media Excellence Award” for Analytics/Big Data 2024, “Great Places to Work” (2023-2024), one of “Legal Tech’s
Most Promising Solution Providers” (CIO Review Awards 2022), “Greater Bay Area Top Workplaces 2022”
(The San Francisco Chronicle Top Workplaces in the Bay Area 2022), “Legal Tech Company of the Year
2021" (CIO Review, 2021), “2021 Legal Technology Trailblazer” (National Law Journal Trailblazer Awards, 2021), and Winner of the “Media Excellence” Award for Analytics/Big Data (13th Annual Media Excellence Award, 2021). Based in Silicon Valley, Lex Machina is part of LexisNexis, a leading global provider of legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics. For more information, please visit www.lexmachina.com.
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