Civil Justice Council review of litigation funding – share your views

The review

The Civil Justice Council has formed a working group to look at the topic of third-party litigation funding.

It is seeking views on a number of broad areas, including:

• whether third-party funding should be regulated and, if so, how that would be done and by whom
• the impact on access to justice from third-party funding
• the merits of self-regulation versus other types of regulation
• whether a cap should be imposed on the return that funders receive and, if so, what that should look like
• comparisons of third-party funding with other sources of funding
• the role of the court in controlling litigation that is supported by third party funding
• the impact of third-party funding on claimant protection
• the impact of third-party funding on the encouragement of litigation

The council has a statutory duty to review the civil justice system and make recommendations to the lord chancellor, judiciary and Civil Procedure Rule Committee on the development of the civil justice system.

Our view

We do not currently have a policy position on third-party funding, so we encourage members and other interested stakeholders to either:

• contribute to our response, or
• submit a response directly to the Civil Justice Council

What this means for solicitors

Members who work with litigation funders, and clients who have their legal case funded by a third party, are likely to see changes to the way that third party funding is conducted.

These changes will be based on the findings of this consultation and subsequent work by the council’s working group.

Next steps

The closing date for submissions to the Civil Justice Council is 31 January 2025.

Its working group will then look to produce a final report by summer 2025.

Get involved

As the professional body for solicitors, we amplify the powerful collective voice of more than 200,000 solicitors with your diverse experiences and backgrounds, advocating on the issues you’ve told us matter most, including the rule of law and access to justice.

To help shape our response to the consultation, email civiljusticepolicy@lawsociety.org.uk by 10 January 2025.

Read the full consultation on the Civil Justice Council website