Summary: Private litigants and state governments are turning to new sources of funding for lawsuits. Private litigants are now selling shares of their lawsuits to investment and hedge funds, a practice more popular in countries with more limited access to contingency fees like England and Australia. State governments are now outsourcing their legal work to law firms that work on a contingency fee and may themselves turn to investment and hedge funds. Are these developments good or bad? Are they legal? How, if at all, should they be regulated? -- The Litigation Practice Group hosted this panel on "The New Age of Litigation Financing" on Thursday, November 14, during the 2013 National Lawyers Convention. -- Featuring: Mr. John H. Beisner, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates; Mr. Ashley C. Keller, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Gerchen Keller Capital, LLC; Prof. Jonathan T. Molot, Georgetown University Law Center; and Mr. Walter K. Olson, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute. Moderator: Hon. Thomas B. Griffith, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. Introduction: Hon. Rachel Brand, Vice President & Chief Counsel for Regulatory Litigation, National Chamber Litigation Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
