Abstract
Litigation financing of plaintiffs by financiers other than the law firms representing the plaintiffs in the litigation is now a multi-billion-dollar industry. Contrary to assertions by advocates for such litigation financing, such litigation financing does not increase fairness and justice to poor and middle-class victims. Instead, it creates substantial problems beyond any associated with standard contingent-fee agreements between plaintiffs and the lawyers who represent them.
This article describes the multiple ways in which the litigation-financing industry harms poor and middle-class tort plaintiffs and generates inefficient uses of judicial resources and jurors' time. It then recommends actions that courts can take to reduce those problems.
Acknowledgment
The authors are grateful for the assistance provided by Dmitir B. Vilner in the research for this article.
© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
