What developments are taking place in terms of funding of collective redress actions?
Shankland: Funding of litigation generally, not just collective actions, is another big issue under debate in England at present. A key question is whether or not the costs regime in this country lends itself as an attractive commercial proposition to people who want to invest in litigation. (In England solicitors are only allowed to charge an uplift of 100% of their actual fees.) The litigation funding industry here is growing very rapidly, and is pushing for change in terms of the way that they are allowed to collect the upside of actions. We are increasingly seeing large-scale commercial litigation being funded by third party claims funders and if that takes hold in the way that people expect it to, it will further incentivise claims-funding companies and claimant lawyers to put pressure on the government to change the rules. This is a subject that the CJC and the Department of Justice have been looking at very seriously. Editor: What would your advice to our readers be in terms of
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