RAND 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. The Program will explore:

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.

RAND Events and Research

Third Party Litigation Funding and Claim Transfer: Trends and Implications for the Civil Justice System — June 2, 2009

RAND Institute for Civil Justice and UCLA School of Law recently forged a new initiative through which they identify and analyze the biggest and most influential trends in civil justice. One such trend—litigation claim transfer (also referred to as third party litigation funding)—has created the environment for litigation claim transfer to be evaluated as a component of the American civil justice system. The confluence of the recent credit shortage, the enormity of the overall market for legal services, and the search for investment opportunities unrelated to general economic risk has created an environment in which litigation claim transfer could expand and thrive.

UCLA-RAND Center for Law and Public Policy brought together stakeholders to not only discuss this phenomenon, but to frame how it is debated in government, law schools and state bars across the country.

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