Other People's Money: The Ethics of Litigation Funding

Litigation can be expensive, sometimes incredibly expensive. There are investigators to employ, expert witnesses to compensate, court reporters to pay, documents to photocopy or electronically image, travel expenses, demonstrative evidence to create, and so on. An attorney's time itself is valuable. A party's time is also valuable, and plaintiffs who are disabled as a result of injuries they have sustained may need money to live on.

As a result, a wealthy litigant, who can outspend a poorer litigant, is generally at an advantage and may be able to obtain a favorable settlement through attrition.