The first essay, drawing on data from the Studies in Law and Development comparative litigation project, develops an alternative to direct comparison of litigation in different countries. It compares differences between litigation in developed and undeveloped regions, outlying regions, and the capital city within one country to these same types of regions in other countries, specifically in six Mediterranean and Latin American countries, hoping to find cross-national parallels in the differences in litigation patterns between regions of each country. The second essay describes the work of another major comparative litigation research project, conducted by the Western European Working Group. The essay describes difficulties arising from the differences in European court structures and the way these difficulties are compounded by the manner in which official statistics are managed. The essay concludes that valid comparison requires a detailed knowledge of the social context of litigation.