Lawsuit

==Financing==
{{one source section|date=December 2023}}
Particularly in the United States, plaintiffs and defendants who lack financial resources for litigation or other [[attorney's fee]]s may be able to obtain [[legal financing]]. Legal financing companies can provide a cash advance to litigants in return for a share of the ultimate [[settlement (litigation)|settlement]] or award. If the case ultimately loses, the litigant does not have to pay any of the money funded back. [[Legal financing]] is different from a typical bank [[loan]] in that the legal financing company does not look at credit history or employment history. Litigants do not have to repay the cash advance with monthly payments, but do have to fill out an application so that the legal financing company can review the merits of the case.

[[Legal financing]] can be a practical means for litigants to obtain financing while they wait for a monetary settlement or an award in their [[personal injury]], [[workers' compensation]], or [[civil rights]] lawsuit. Often, plaintiffs who were injured or forced to leave their jobs still have [[Mortgage loan|mortgages]], rent, medical expenses, or other bills to pay. Other times, litigants may simply need money to pay for the costs of litigation and attorneys' fees, and for this reason, many litigants turn to reputable legal financing companies to apply for a cash advance to help pay for bills.

Defendants, civil rights organizations, public interest organizations, and government public officials can all set up an account to pay for litigation costs and legal expenses. These [[legal defense fund]]s can have large membership counts where the members contribute to the fund. Unlike legal financing from legal financing companies, legal defense funds provide a separate account for litigation rather than a one-time cash advancement, nevertheless, both are used for purposes of financing litigation and legal costs.

There was a study conducted in the ''Supreme Court Economic Review'' that shows why litigation financing can be practical and beneficial to the overall court system and lawsuits within the court. This study concluded that the new rules that were set for litigation financing actually did produce more settlements. Under conservative rules, there tended to be fewer settlements, however under the older rules they tended to be larger on average.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Effects of Litigation Financing Rules on Settlement Rates|first1= Laura |last1=Inglis|first2= Kevin |last2=McCabe |journal=Supreme Court Economic Review| volume= 18|number= 1 |year=2010| pages= 135–15|jstor=10.1086/659984|publisher=[[University of California, Santa Barbara]] |doi=10.1086/659984|s2cid= 154317478 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Legal financing can become an issue in some cases, varying from case to case and person to person. It can be beneficial in many situations, however also detrimental in others.