Media & Publications
60 Minutes: Litigation Funding: A multibillion-dollar industry for investments in lawsuits with little oversight
Ever heard of litigation funding? It's a relatively new, multibillion-dollar industry where investors fund lawsuits. Here's the idea: say someone was wronged by a big corporation but has no money to sue it. A litigation funder will pay for their court battle. In essence: they're betting on the lawsuit the way traders bet on stocks. If it's successful – they make money, sometimes a lot of money; if it fails – the funders get nothing – their investment is lost.
The Case for an International Court of Civil Justice
When multinational corporations cause mass harms to lives, livelihoods, and the environment in developing countries, it is nearly impossible for victims to find a court that can and will issue an enforceable judgment. In this work, Professor Maya Steinitz presents a detailed rationale for the creation of an International Court of Civil Justice (ICCJ) to hear such transnational mass tort cases.
Zombie Litigation: Claim Aggregation, Litigant Autonomy and Funders' Intermeddling
The main debate surrounding litigation funding in recent years has focused on the question of disclosure of funding agreements. While the issue is important, predominantly because of its effects on the course and outcome of individual cases, far more important are bigger, interrelated questions which have systemic effects on the civil justice system, the legal profession, and the nature of the rise of portfolio funding- which I here propose to view as a new form of undisclosed and unregulated claim aggregation- has broader-still effects including clients' potential, and at times actual, loss of autonomy over their cases as their lawyers become originators, brokers and/or managers of 'litigation assets.'
The Partnership Mystique: Law Firm Finance and Governance for the 21st Century American Law Firm
This Article identifies and analyzes the de facto and de jure end of lawyers’ exclusivity over the practice of law in the United States. This development will have profound implications for the legal profession, the careers of individual lawyers, and the justice system as a whole.
Rules and Laws for Civil Actions 2023
Rules and Laws for Civil Actions is an open-access resource for law students containing the U.S. Constitution, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Evidence, Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, and selected federal and state statutes. The book was created by a team of faculty members at the University of Iowa College of Law to supplement the study of Civil Procedure, Evidence, Constitutional Law, and other law school courses. In addition to containing the official text, each legal source found in Rules and Laws for Civil Actions is accompanied by an introductory section written by an Iowa Law professor explaining its significance and background. Students are able to access the online and digital versions of the resource free of charge. Additional digital copies in a variety of formats are available for at https://pressbooks.uiowa.edu/civil-procedure-rules/.
Stanford Law Review: The Case for an International Court of Civil Justice
We live in a world in which the victims of cross-border mass torts de facto (not de jure) have no court to turn to in order to pursue legal action against American multinational corporations when they are responsible for disasters. The only way to provide a fair and legitimate process for both victims and corporations is to create an International Court of Civil Justice (ICCJ). This Essay seeks to start a conversation about this novel institutional solution. It lays out both a justice case, from the plaintiffs’ viewpoint, and an efficiency case, from a corporate defendant’s viewpoint, for why a world with an ICCJ would be a better place. The Essay also provides an initial blueprint for such an ICCJ. In so doing, it explains why an ICCJ is politically viable and may, specifically, appeal to rather than repel the least likely constituency: corporate America. The Essay concludes with a call for action and a research agenda.
Transnational Mass Tort Litigation: A Proposal for an International Court of Civil Justice
This chapter will present an argument for the creation of an International Court of Civil Justice to hear transnational mass tort cases. It will consider some of the challenges of adjudicating cross-border mass torts, along with the incentives and feasibility of a new international court to adjudicate these claims. Drawing upon a number of case studies, including the Bhopal disaster, litigation surrounding the devastation of the Ecuadorian Rain Forest, and the attempts to sue over human rights abuses in Nigeria, the chapter will show that the world's legal systems were not designed to solve these kinds of complex transnational disputes, and the absence of mechanisms to ensure coordination means that victims try, but fail, to find justice in country after country, court after court. The chapter also explains how an ICCJ would provide victims with access to justice and corporate defendants with a non-corrupt forum and an end to the cost and uncertainty of unending litigation-more efficiently resolving the most complicated types of civil litigation.
Report of the National Expert for the United States in Mapping Third Party Litigation Funding In The European Union
Commercial third-party litigation funding (“TPLF”) is not centrally regulated in the United States. It is subject to the overlapping jurisdiction of state and federal courts, state and federal legislatures, regulatory agencies, and bar associations. Legislation, regulation, and oversight of TPLF is being undertaken at each of those levels – much of it centered around the questions of when and whether TPLF should be disclosed; how to mitigate conflicts of interest created by TPLF (including the potential for claimants to lose control over their case to funders); and the identification of any foreign individuals, entities, or countries that may be providing the funding. At least 12 state legislatures and the U.S. Congress have passed or considered TPLF legislation. Many federal and state courts have issued standing orders regarding litigation finance. In TPLF cases, courts have used their inherent powers to investigate potential abuse of process and to determine whether those appearing before the court are the real parties in interest.
Financial Times on Chinese-funded lawsuit Challenges
The Financial Times (FT), a top global business publication, recently published a major piece examining the future of the multi-billion dollar litigation funding industry. The article focused on the challenges and criticisms facing the sector, including regulatory scrutiny and the complexities of capital management, especially as it relates to foreign investment in U.S. and international disputes.
Written Testimony on Oversight of Third-party Litigation Funding Before the Committee on Oversight and Accountability United State House of Representatives
Chairman Comer, Ranking Member Raskin, and members of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, thank you for inviting me to testify today. I appreciate the opportunity to share with you some of what I have learned over nearly 15 years studying, writing
about, and advising on the phenomenon of third-party litigation finance.
Third Party Funding of Investment Arbitration
This Essay discusses Third-Party Funding in Investment Arbitration.
It describes the rise of third-party funding of investment arbitration; the debate over the definition of litigation/arbitration finance; the forms arbitration finance takes; the normative debate in favor and against third-party funding of investment arbitration; the effects of arbitration funding on the arbitral process; developments in national, international, and soft law governing investment arbitration funding; and the likely effects of third-party funding on the international bar.
New Jersey now has a sweeping lit funding disclosure rule. Does it matter?
(Reuters) - There is no such thing as a casual discussion about whether courts should require some form of disclosure of commercial litigation finance agreements.
Every disclosure proposal – whether it’s in a state legislature or bar association, in Congress, in a federal rules committee, or a federal district court – is tantamount to a declaration of nuclear war, between commercial litigation funders and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
You no longer have to be a lawyer to practice law in Arizona. That's good and bad
Opinion: New rules in Arizona allow non-lawyers to practice law and invest in a lawfirm. There may be benefits but also plenty of unintended consequences.
New Ariz. Law Practice Rules May Jump-Start National Reform
On Jan. 1, 2021, a far-reaching reform of the practice of law took effect in Arizona, opening the sector up to nonlawyer participation. Given the global context of the reform and the general economic climate, we predict that other states will follow suit in coming years, profoundly transforming the American legal profession.
How Litigation Finance Works
When Peter Thiel financed Hulk Hogan’s invasion of privacy lawsuit in 2016, many pundits thought it was an example of a new phenomenon sweeping the legal sector called litigation finance.
“But that suit wasn’t really litigation finance. That was just Peter Thiel trying to settle a score,” said Roy Strom, Bloomberg Law reporter covering the business of law.
Follow the Money? A Proposed Approach for Disclosure of Litigation Finance Agreements
Litigation finance is the new and fast-growing practice by which a nonparty funds a plaintiff’s litigation either for profit or for some other motivation. Some estimates placed the size of the litigation finance market at $50-$100 billion.
Both proponents and opponents of this newly emergent phenomenon agree that it is the most important civil justice development of this era. Litigation finance is already transforming civil litigation at the level of the single case as well as, incrementally, at the level of the civil justice system as a whole. It is also beginning to transform the way law firms are doing business and it will increasingly shape the careers of civil litigators at firms small and large.
NPR: Capitalism In The Courtroom
Litigation financing allows third-party funders like Burford Capital to invest in other people's lawsuits, but it's long been considered unethical, and is illegal in many places.
But justice can often hinge more on how much money each side has than on what's actually right or wrong. So Burford argues that allowing investments in lawsuits will give more people access to better justice. And it's been a good business for them. But others worry it might warp the justice system.
The Practice, Harvard Law School: Special Issue on Litigation Finance
Litigation finance is transforming civil litigation at the case level as well as, incrementally, at the level of the civil justice system as a whole. It is beginning to transform the legal industry.
Testimony on Third Party Financing of Lawsuits
Greetings. I thank the committee for giving me the opportunity to provide feedback on bills S. 3911 and A. 8966. My name is Maya Steinitz, and I am a Professor of Law at the University of Iowa College of Law and a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School for both Spring and Fall of 2018. Third party litigation financing is one of my main fields of expertise as an academic. I have published papers regarding Third Party financing of both domestic and international disputes, and have written extensively regarding the set up and design of litigation financing contracts.
Letter to the Hon. Sen. Orrt (NYS Senate) Regarding Litigation Finance (Lawsuit Lending)
Following testimony to the New York State Senate's Standing Committee on Consumer Protection (available on SSRN and YouTube), Professor Steinitz was asked to elaborate on her recommendation for a statutory minimum recovery requirement to protect consumers of litigation financing. Enclosed is her response to this inquiry.