Third Party Funding: A Short-Term Fad Or A Long-Term Trend That Is Here To Stay?

What is third party funding of litigation?  At its most basic, it used to be the giving of money for a "piece of the pie".  In exchange for advancing funds, the third party, who had no interest in the litigation, would receive a percentage of the award/judgment or some other payment as agreed. The initial focus of this funding was personal injury cases, and it then expanded to class actions. Now we are seeing third party funding for business disputes, breach of contracts and/or fiduciary duties, litigation involving securities fraud, anti-trust, intellectual property, tax disputes, bankruptcy, and international arbitration.  

Now both plaintiffs and defendants are using third party funding. General Counsel and Chief Financial Officers embrace it as a tool of choice, to move costs and risks off balance sheets and to transform the litigation department into a profit centre. For companies, it releases their capital to pursue other priorities. Moreover, it can control