More attacks on litigation funders and some funders and their lobby identified

The lead story in Met. Corp. Counsel, July 2011, prints an address delivered to the Atlantic Legal Foundation. It slams litigation funders for (1) high interest rates and (2) the “perverse financial incentives funding creates when settlement discussions happen.” The story cites Counsel Financial, which it says is backed by Citigroup, as well as the “Litigation Risk Strategies” division of Credit Suisse Group and Allianz ProzessFinanz GmbH.

The writer, Kirby Griffis, a partner with Hollingsworth LLP in Washington, DC, takes particular aim at the American Legal Finance Association (ALFA), the lobbying arm for those who fund litigation. ALFA was founded in 2004 and operates from 228 Park Avenue South in New York City. Griffis minces no words: “The litigation funding industry is a powerful force that will distort and, most importantly, increase U.S. litigation.”