A group of U.S. Senate Republicans this week introduced the latest bill to force greater disclosure of third-party financing for lawsuits, after years of similar efforts met with failure in the U.S. Congress.
The new bill, spearheaded by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, targets only mass torts and class action lawsuits, unlike earlier proposed legislation seeking to require disclosure of third-party funding in all civil litigation.
It would also exclude non-profit legal organizations from the disclosure requirements if the funds they received for litigation came from U.S.-based donors to provide pro bono, or free, representation.
That exemption follows criticism of similar litigation funding transparency legislation by conservative legal advocacy groups. America First Legal, co-founded by senior White House aide Stephen Miller, and other groups have argued that requiring them to disclose their backers would expose donors to scrutiny by Democrats and liberal groups.
The International Legal Finance Association, the litigation funding industry’s chief lobbying group, said it opposes the legislation.
“Everyday Americans, whose legal rights Sen. Grassley so often champions, would be deeply harmed by the bill as their access to the courts may very well evaporate,” ILFA executive director Paul Kong said in a statement.
Litigation finance is now a multibillion-dollar industry, and calls for greater transparency around its use have persisted for years. Grassley introduced similar bills in 2018, 2019, and 2021.