With more contractors in warzones comes a surge of lawsuits.

• Position: DEFENSEINSIDER

The presence of contractors in warzones is growing by the day. More than 150,000 are in Afghanistan and Iraq. Also on the rise is the level of scrutiny they receive from the U.S. government and international organizations, in addition to more cutthroat competition from peer firms. As a result, contractors are creating an increasingly lucrative target for law firms.

Attorneys who represent battlefield contractors are busier than ever. They are dealing with investigations, battlefield torts, employment litigation, international lawsuits, defense contractor disputes and the complex laws of armed conflict. The large presence of U.S. troops and contractors in warzones has opened the floodgates of litigation as foreign governments and firms discover the high-stakes payoffs of the American legal system.

"One of the most successful American exports to the world is our litigation system," says Tara Lee, a partner in the law firm DLA...