According to a new report from the LA Times this week, the increasing size of the videogames has seen high-profile law firms expanding their teams working in the industry; in anticipation of profitable business from the sector.

Apparently, gaming firms are becoming more litigation-happy, resulting in several big firms expanding their expertise in the field, not only in terms of capacity but also expertise, given the specific needs of gaming clients.

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton apparently have an incredible 20 lawyers dealing with purely gaming matters, while large rivals have similarly large teams on hand.

Apparently, most disputes are of the class variety, while there are also business relationships to debate and even conflicts over virtual property to deal with.

"For a long time, video games flew under the radar," offers games-playing lawyer Shawn Foust. "That's no longer the case. The number of consumer class-action lawsuits filed against game companies has gone up pretty dramatically over the last three or four years. The pot [of] money is now big enough for plaintiffs attorneys to become interested."

By Luke Guttridge