Lex Machina 2026 Trade Secret Litigation Report: Federal Trade Secret Filings Hit an All-Time High in 2025

Settlement remains most common resolution, but substantially lags rates in other civil litigation categories

San Jose, CA — January 29, 2026 — Lex Machina®, the LexisNexis® Legal Analytics® platform, today announced the release of its 2026 Trade Secret Litigation Report, delivering a comprehensive analysis of trade secret litigation in US federal courts since 2016. With this report, legal professionals have actionable, data-driven insights to better assess risk, strategy, and outcomes in trade secret litigation.

Key findings from the report include: 

• Record federal trade secret cases: Trade secret filings reached their highest level in the past decade. In 2025, filings reached over 1,500 cases, the highest total ever recorded. The Central District of California was the most active venue for trade secret litigation in 2025, with 100 newly  filed lawsuits. This jump in filings signals a competitive landscape in which early decisions around  case assessment and venue selection can potentially shape outcomes before a case gains  momentum.
• Not all DTSA: Although causes of action asserted under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) continue to appear in more than 80 percent of new trade-secret lawsuits in federal courts each year, there are signs of renewed reliance on trade-secret claims asserted under state  law. In each of the last two years, the frequency of state-law-only trade-secret claims increased in  federal courts. This may be attributable in part to significant legal developments in 2023 and  2024. The revitalized use of state-law trade secret claims makes it important for practitioners to  understand how evolving legal standards from multiple jurisdictions affect liability risk.
• Lower settlement rates than other practice areas: Settlement remains the most common resolution for trade secret cases, with about 65 percent of district court cases resolving through likely settlement between 2023 and 2025. However, this rate is substantially lower than settlement rates observed in many other categories of federal civil litigation. Practitioners can  incorporate analytical insights from Lex Machina to pressure-test pretrial strategies in trade secret  cases that tend to have longer timelines and lower settlement rates.

“The Lex Machina 2026 Trade Secret Litigation Report provides a comprehensive analysis of federal  trade secret litigation at a critical inflection point, with filings reaching an all-time high and emerging shifts  toward state law claims,” said Emily Pavuluri, Assistant Director of Faculty Services and Lecturer in  Law at Vanderbilt Law School. “This report offers valuable, data-driven insights into case timing,  settlement patterns, and damage trends, helping counsel develop more effective litigation strategies for  their clients.”

“The Trade Secret Litigation Report highlights just how high-stakes and complex these cases have  become,” said Eric Wright, senior vice president of Lex Machina at LexisNexis. “From 2023 to 2025,  cases that reached trial took a median of 1,124 days, while juries awarded more than $716 million in  actual damages and $510 million in punitive damages. These findings give practitioners concrete  benchmarks for assessing risk, timing, and potential exposure in trade secret disputes.”

To request a copy of the report, visit LexisNexis.com/LexMachina. 

The Lex Machina Legal Analytics platform equips litigation professionals to win more cases and  generate 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 and pursue new matters, 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 AI-powered legal, regulatory, business information, analytics and workflows 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 Winner of the “Overall LegalTech Data Solution Provider of the Year” LegalTech  Breakthrough Award 2025, “Best Data Analytics & Insight Solution” 2025 CODiE Award, 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. 

Eric Wright is senior vice president of Lex Machina and Print at LexisNexis and serves as CEO of  LexisNexis Canada.

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