Respondents to a survey said eDiscovery spending will both increase and decrease in the coming year.Results from law firm Fulbright & Jaworski's latest Litigation Trends Survey show many law firms in the United States and the UK have pegged eDiscovery for both spending increases and decreases.

When asked to identify areas where spending will increase in the coming year, 25 percent of respondents cited eDiscovery. Five percent of respondents identified eDiscovery as an area pegged for decreases in spending. Of those 5 percent, public companies made up 9 percent and 5 percent were large-caps.

Other survey results show 70 percent of all respondents believe eDiscovery for civil actions needs to be "curtailed in the U.S." Sixty percent said UK eDiscovery regulations need tailoring in this area. And more than 66 percent in both countries believe guidance in this area requires “some” or “substantial” clarification, according to the report.

Litigation holds and eDiscovery requests appear to be on the rise for law firms and companies alike. A recent Computerworld report quoted an NBC Universal executive as saying eDiscovery requests of the company increased by as much as 50 percent annually during the past decade.