Third Party Litigation Funding: The Dark Money Driving High-Stakes Litigation

Over the past decade, litigation funding has become a multi-billion dollar industry where outside financiers—typically hedge funds, institutional investors, and sovereign wealth funds—invest in other people’s litigation in exchange for a percentage of any recovery. These funders are a driving force behind mass tort litigation, commercial disputes, and intellectual property lawsuits today, often determining which cases are brought, how long they are pursued, and whether they settle or go to trial. Accordingly, they have fundamentally changed the dynamics facing defendants and their counsel.

This panel will explore the legal, ethical, and practical influence this outside money is having on the civil justice system, how it is fueling lawsuit advertising, claim generation, and scientific theories, and how it can drive outcomes regardless of the merits. The panel will also discuss the legal reform efforts in the United States, Canada, and other countries that, in large part, are seeking to subject third party litigation funding to regulation and disclosure. Finally, the panel will offer defense counsel practical tips for seeking disclosure in their litigations.