Law, Finance, and Capital Markets Program
The RAND Institute for Civil Justice has launched a research initiative to analyze an emerging development in civil dispute resolution in the United States, namely, the providing of capital and capital market products for claim holders and those defending against claims, and their respective lawyers. Research conducted within the Program will explore issues such as the following:
- The convergence of law, finance, and capital markets in the United States, including phenomena such as outside capital invested in law firms and third party litigation funding;
- Effects of outside capital on the American legal system and on the efficiency, fairness and transparency of the civil justice system in the U.S., and how these effects differ across segments of the litigation-financing industry; and
- Advantages and disadvantages of potential public-policy responses as applied to different industry segments.
Featured News
RAND Events and Research
Alternative Litigation Financing in the United States: Issues, Knowns, and Unknowns — May 17, 2010
Alternative litigation financing (ALF)—also known as "third-party" litigation financing—refers to provision of capital by parties other than plaintiffs, defendants, their lawyers, or defendants' insurers to support litigation-related activity. This paper describes the ALF industry as of early 2010 and discusses the legal ethics, social morality, and, especially, potential economic effects of ALF.
Third-Party Litigation Funding and Claim Transfer: Trends and Implications for the Civil Justice System — Mar. 16, 2010
Litigation can be expensive and risky. In June 2009, the UCLA-RAND Center for Law and Public Policy convened a conference to assess the regulatory implications of third-party financing, its effect on dispute resolution, and likely trends in the development of the practice as it becomes more widespread.
Other Research and Journal Articles More »
A Comparative Legal and Economic Approach to Third-Party Litigation Funding
Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law, Spring 2011
Revolution in Progress: Third-Party Funding of American Litigation — Dec. 2010
UCLA Law Review, Vol. 58, No. 2
An Empirical Study of Australia's Class Action Regimes — Sep. 2010
Australian Research Council
Costs and Funding of Civil Litigation: A Comparative Study — Dec. 2009
University of Legal Research Paper Series, Paper No. 55
A Fee Limitation Rule for Litigation Finance — Sep. 2009
Paper presented at Searle Public Policy Roundtable on Third Party Financing of Litigation, Northwestern University School of Law, September 24-25, 2009
Law & Finance in the News More »
Litigation Funders Face Discovery Woes — Feb. 22, 2011
The National Law Journal
Read More at law.com (subscription required)
The Rise of 3rd-Party Litigation Funding — Jan. 21, 2011
Law360
Read More at law360.com (subscription required)
Taking Sides in a Divorce, Chasing Profit — Dec. 4, 2010
The New York Times
Investing in Someone Else's Lawsuit — Nov. 15, 2010
The New York Times
Investors Put Money on Lawsuits to Get Payouts — Nov. 14, 2010
The New York Times
Capitalism's Next Frontier: Outside Investment in Law Firms — Nov. 3, 2010
The American Lawyer
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