Private Law Theory

ABSTRACT
… This Essay argues that if funders decide to fund only one additional category of parties in the name of increasing ‘access to justice’ – even if such funding cuts against the funder’s own profit-seeking interests – then civil defendants are as good a place as any to begin. Civil defendants, by definition, do not commence the litigation and, therefore, in theory, there can be no corporate influence from the thirdparty funder with respect to stirring up the litigation itself (ie, maintenance, champerty, and barratry). In addition, this Essay argues that other worthy aspects of the case itself – besides financial worth –  may be the true foundation of ‘access to justice’ that funders should espouse and support financially. This Essay concludes with a few ideas regarding how a funder might modify its algorithms and decisionmaking processes to include some of these aspects as factors to weigh in determining whether to fund the myriad categories of ‘unfunded winners’ to help rebalance the scales of justice.

Victoria S Sahani, Rethinking the Impact Of Third-Party Funding On Access To Civil Justice, 69 DePaul Law Review (2020).

First posted 2020-05-27 05:57:35