Abstract
The main claim of the paper is that the changing realities of legal practice create lasting attorney-funder alliances. In effect, among a funder, a friendly law firm, and the client circle of such firm, there is not one attorney-client-funder triangle, but many; and they all revolve around the common link between the two repeat players. The emergence of "litigation funding cones" impacts the attorney-client relationship. The paper argues that in third-party funded litigation, the attorney-funder bond, often informal and confidential, may leave represented litigants in a vulnerable position. Such vulnerability is unlikely to be adequately addressed solely by contract. Therefore, clear rules are required to promote disclosure of behind-the-scenes players and minimize conflicts of interest.
Recommended Citation
Radek Goral,
Skin in the Game: Why Business Lawsuits Get Third-Party Funded,
30
Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. Pol'y
247
(2016).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndjlepp/vol30/iss2/3