RESEARCH

Commission on Ethics 20/20, American Bar Association
- After two years of research into consumer legal funding the American Bar Association’s Commission on Ethics 20/20 released a white paperon the topic. As a result of their research and hearings, the ABA confirmed that there is a need for the product and concluded that attorneys should fully inform their clients about the use of such products.
Low Ball: An Insider’s Look at How Some Insurers Can Manipulate Computerized Systems to Broadly Underpay Injury Claims, Consumer Federation of America
- Over the years, large insurance companies have institutionalized a method of increasing profits using complex software to systematically minimize payments on injury claims.
The “Good Hands” Company or a Leader in Anti-Consumer Practices? Excessive Prices and Poor Claims Practices at Allstate Corporation, Consumer Federation of America
- Shows the insurance industry “loss ratio” plummet from 71.3% in 1987 to 53.2% in 2006. “Using the loss ratio as a measure, property-casualty insurance is less valuable than it used to be for insurance consumers overall, but especially for Allstate customers.”

Harmonizing Third-Party Litigation Funding Regulation By Victoria A. Shannon, Washington and Lee University School of Law
- Proposes harmonizing the regulatory framework for third-party litigation funding in the United States by identifying the three categories of interactions—transactional, procedural, and ethical—that make up third-party litigation funding, and suggesting avenues for regulation within those three categories.
The Effects of Third-Party Litigation Funding of Plaintiffs on Settlement by Dandrew Daugherty and Jennifer Reinganum, Vanderbilt University
- Uses a signaling model to analyze the effect of third-party funding on settlement bargaining. Shows that if third-party funding has an effect, it is to quicken the settlement process. Shows that rate caps could result in settlement failure or the elimination of the product.