Corporate legal departments could soon see an increase in costly court battles due to growth in third-party litigation financing companies that are willing to fund plaintiffs' cases in hopes of taking a piece of the settlement or verdict.
But third-party financing isn't all bad for companies. “It could be very useful for in-house counsel, since it could help companies move some litigation off their balance sheet to free up capital,” says Maya Steinitz, an associate professor at the University of Iowa College of Law.
While litigation financing with roots in Australia and Britain in the 1990s isn't a new concept, only in ...