consumer legal funding

ARC Advisory Council Member Writes LAW 360 Article on the Importance of Free Markets

Jeremy Kidd, a law and economics scholar at Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law, recently scribed an article for the legal publication Law 360 discussing how anti-market, pro-business protectionism is threatening American democracy.  In the article, he describes the difference between supporting pro-market ideologies established by free market theorist Adam Smtih and supporting pro-business initiatives that forward the interests of specific businesses and hurt consumers in the process.

In the article, he describes the difference between supporting pro-market ideologies established by free market theorist Adam Smtih and supporting pro-business initiatives that forward the interests of specific businesses and hurt consumers in the process.

Kidd calls out the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for pushing the business interests of their top donors–many massive insurance company backers–to the detriment of consumers.

In recent years, the Chamber has advocated for a ban on the use of consumer legal funding in states across the country, which could leave many personal injury victims without financial options when trying to pursue a fair claim. Consumer legal funding helps families replace lost income now, after an accident, so that they can meet basic household needs until their case settles.

From the article:

It is difficult, if not impossible, for victims to hold insurance companies accountable when victims must accept an insufficient settlement offer in order to avoid starvation, eviction or inability to obtain medical care. As in so many other areas of our lives, financial intermediaries have arisen to correct this market imperfection.

Kidd, who is a member of the ARC Advisory Council, is also one of the nation’s leading experts on the topic of consumer legal funding. His latest paper on the topic, Modeling the Likely Effect of Litigation Financingwhich was published last year.

Check out the article on Law 360’s site HERE.

Read the full text HERE.