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ARTICLE · 04 SEPTEMBER 2025

Intellectual Property Report - September 2025

Baker Botts L.L.P.
Baker Botts L.L.P.
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Baker Botts L.L.P.

Baker Botts L.L.P.

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The landscape of legal practice has significantly changed due to the proliferation of third-party litigation funding, a financial mechanism that provides capital to plaintiffs, including patent owners, in exchange for an interest related to any recovery.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Lori Ding
Lori Ding
Nick Palmieri
Nick Palmieri

An Attorney's Ethical Obligations to the Client in Third-Party Funded Litigation

Lori Ding

The landscape of legal practice has significantly changed due to the proliferation of third-party litigation funding, a financial mechanism that provides capital to plaintiffs, including patent owners, in exchange for an interest related to any recovery. This funding source can be a vital tool for expanding access to justice, particularly for patent owners who would otherwise be unable to afford the high costs of patent litigation, but it introduces several dynamics that require careful ethical consideration from attorneys. After assessing an attorney's ethical duties of loyalty to the client and client control, attorneys can examine how they are applied and safeguarded in the context of litigation funding, and analyze how state bar ethics opinions and judicial interpretations are guiding attorneys in this evolving field.

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