- What’s happening: The lucrative, billion dollar third-party litigation financing (TPLF) industry is helping drive the length and cost of litigation and contributing to increasing homeowners
insurance premiums across the country. Keep reading - Tell me more: While some argue that TPLF can provide financial support for plaintiffs who otherwise couldn’t afford legal representation, it often comes at a high cost, including substantial attorney’s fees and investors whose only interest in the lawsuit is the financial outcome.
- These funding arrangements raise the question of whose interests are really the priority in the litigation–the plaintiff’s or the investors’?
- Going digital: TPLF plays a major part in attorney advertising and “litigation harvesting,”which involves lead generators enrolling people in lawsuits without direct attorney contact, potentially violating legal advertising rules. Does MMA ring a bell?
- One tactic used by some attorneys is manipulation of search engine optimization (SEO) and black-hat techniques to direct policyholders to legal services instead of their insurance companies.
- ‼️Florida-based St. John’s Insurance saw lawsuits skyrocket from 180 to over 3,500 per year, the result of strategic SEO spending and digital marketing by public adjusters and law firms.
- In his own words: “We knew this had to be more than billboards. This had to be more than door knocking. It was an escalation of unprecedented proportions.”
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