Litigation Commons^™

Real Promise For False Claims: A Whistleblower Litigation Strategy To Reward Investigative Journalism, Frank D. Lomonte

Washington Law Review

Every year, investigative reporters uncover stories of waste, fraud, and corruption, alerting the government to taxpayer ripoffs that had previously gone undiscovered or ignored. For decades, non-journalists have been reaping windfall rewards—sometimes in the millions—by using false-claims statutes to bring whistleblower actions on the government’s behalf. With news organizations struggling for their economic survival, and efforts to secure alternative financial support through government bailouts faltering, is it time for journalists to seek a share of the money they recoup for taxpayers by becoming plaintiffs?

This Article explores the possibilities, and downside risks, of using the federal False Claims Act, and …

Curbing Unsupported Claims In Mass Tort Litigation, Cary Silverman

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Revocation Reconsidered: Probation Advocacy Through A Litigation Lens, Shira M. Diner

Faculty Scholarship

Being found in violation of probation has dire consequences. The person found in violation can be imprisoned, upending them from their job, family, and community. Unlike incarceration after a criminal trial, a sentence after a violation of probation is not the result of a legal process characterized by robust due process protections. It is also often not the result of a forceful and thorough defense. It is instead the consequence of a hearing where lawyers with the fixed mindset of an inevitable finding of a violation don’t engage in the same preparation that they would if it was a trial. …

Law School News: Isiah Dipina L'27: From Personal Experience To Policy Change 3-26-2026, Jane Govednik

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Cardozo Stands Alone With A+ In Trial Advocacy From Above The Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law

Cardozo Law News Archive

Cardozo School of Law received an A+ in Trial Advocacy from Above the Law in its 2026 law school rankings, becoming the only law school in the nation to earn the highest distinction. The recognition highlights Cardozo's Intensive Trial Advocacy Program (ITAP), experiential curriculum, simulation courses, clinics, and competitive advocacy programs that prepare students for courtroom practice.

Law School News: Women In Law Leadership Lecture Welcomes Victims' Rights Attorney Carrie Goldberg To Roger Williams University School Of Law 3-19-2026, Mikayla Larguinha

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Still A Picture, Not A Life: Scrutinizing Media In Federal Court, Hope Forsyth

Washington Law Review

Before COVID-19, federal judges largely resisted cameras in their courtrooms; during it, they used webcams to hold court. The American legal system is designed for in-person interaction, yet cases during the pandemic were frequently adjudicated outside the courtroom’s shared physical space. Judges and policymakers must now harmonize pre-pandemic law and policy with pandemic-era experience. To do so, decisionmakers need an analytical framework to harmonize adjudication’s tangible foundation and media’s intangible effects. This Article provides it.

The Article first argues that pre-pandemic judicial intuition (as seen in three judicial philosophies) holds post-pandemic promise. The strictest philosophy requires physical presence for crucial …

7th Annual Women In Law Leadership Lecture March 4, 2026, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Social Equity And Cannabis Explained: History, Regulatory Implementation And The Drug War Reform Efforts 01-13-2026, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Law School News: A Quiet Success Story: Rwu Law's Enduring Partnership With The Center For Justice 01-09-2026, Helga Melgar

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

The Direct-Derivative Divide In Florida Shareholder Litigation, Itai Fiegenbaum

St. Thomas Law Review

This Article analyzes the evolving jurisprudence surrounding the classification of shareholder claims in Florida business entity litigation. Shareholder and member lawsuits take one of two forms: direct claims, which allege personal harm to the entity owner, and derivative claims, which seek redress on behalf of the entity. While both aim to deter insider misconduct and ensure accountability, the procedural posture and practical consequences of each are dramatically different. Direct claims allow shareholders immediate access to judicial relief. Derivative claims, by contrast, impose significant procedural hurdles that often preclude review on the merits. The proper classification of a claim is therefore …

The Civil Justice Business, J. Maria Glover

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Our civil justice system rests on foundational commitments: to make rights real for those the law protects, whatever their station; to hold wrongdoers accountable, whatever their power; and to deter misconduct in a system that depends heavily on private enforcement. We put great faith in these values.

Civil justice, for all its lofty goals, is also a business. Attorneys and liability insurers have long held economic stakes in litigation, bounded by their own professional and regulatory norms. Now, a new litigation finance industry has arisen: outside investors supply equity capital—divorced from legal representation and liability management—and take returns directly from …

Third-Party Funding: Balancing Transparency, National Security, And Access To Justice, Victoria Sahani

Faculty Scholarship

Many lawmakers who have recently become aware of the multi-billion-dollar global third-party funding industry are raising new national security concerns that further complicate preexisting, longstanding debates about transparency, disclosure, access to justice, and the best way to regulate third-party funding. In response, this Article briefly asserts three main points relating to the question of how best to regulate third-party funding. First, this Article explains the third-party funding industry, including its global regulatory landscape and how it serves three distinct populations: consumers, businesses, and law firms. Second, this Article explains that third-party funding is one tool that can help expand access …

Forum Selling As A Threat To The Rule Of Law, Brian Iverson

FIU Law Review

Forum shopping has long been a feature of federal litigation, but recent years have brought a more troubling dynamic in which federal courts compete for cases by “forum selling.” Judges engage in forum selling by adopting plaintiff-friendly procedures, reliably issuing plaintiff-leaning decisions, and publicly soliciting certain types of cases. These practices transform localized procedural discretion into a structural risk for the federal judicial system.

This Article makes two novel contributions to the federal forum-selling literature. First, it expands the discussion beyond bankruptcy and patent practice to examine ideological influences. Drawing on empirical scholarship and illustrative judicial profiles, the Article identifies …

Transnational Mass Tort Litigation: A Proposal For An International Court Of Civil Justice, Maya Steinitz

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter argues for the creation of an International Court of Civil Justice for transnational mass tort cases. It considers the challenges of adjudicating cross-border mass torts along with the incentives and feasibility of a new international court. Drawing upon case studies including the Bhopal disaster, litigation surrounding the devastation of the Ecuadorian rainforest, and the attempts to sue over human rights abuses in Nigeria, the chapter demonstrates that the world's legal systems were not designed to solve these kinds of complex cases, and the absence of mechanisms to ensure coordination means that victims try, but fail, to find justice …

Judicial Climate Governance: Corporate Purpose And The Courts, Hassan M. Ahmad, Ahmed R. Chowdhury

All Papers

With the existential threat of climate change, there is increased attention about the corporation's duty to maintain a healthy environment, particularly in light of the conventional shareholder primacy model of corporate purpose. This article proposes the idea of judicial climate governance. In the absence of robust legislative reforms that would obligate corporations to mitigate and even eliminate their inordinate climate impacts, in climate change litigation courts can and should render liability and compensation decisions that direct corporations towards a more stakeholder-friendly model of corporate purpose. To substantiate the need for judicial climate governance, this article canvasses and contextualizes the historical …

Law Review Symposium: Prisoners' Rights: Protecting Civil Liberties Behind Bars & Beyond 11-7-2025, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

“That’S Not My Name”: The Linguistic Violence Of Misnaming Parties In Court Proceedings, Robert S. Chang, Cecily C. Hazelrigg, Linda Cj Lee

Washington Law Review

This Article calls attention to the harms done when parties are misnamed in legal proceedings. Misnaming, which many might initially consider trivial, is properly understood as a form of linguistic violence that can inflict dignitary harms as well as have material consequences. Misnaming takes on a different valence when it is done by the state. This Article focuses on the misnaming of Indigenous, Asian, and Latine people, beginning first with the way misnaming is done by the administrative state. The authors then discuss misnaming as it has operated in legal proceedings, providing both historical and contemporary examples from federal and …

Report Of The National Expert For The United States In Mapping Third Party Litigation Funding In The European Union, Maya Steinitz

Faculty Scholarship

Commercial third-party litigation funding (“TPLF”) is not centrally regulated in the United States.  It is subject to the overlapping jurisdiction of state and federal courts, state and federal legislatures, regulatory agencies, and bar associations. Legislation, regulation, and oversight of TPLF is being undertaken at each of those levels – much of it centered around the questions of when and whether TPLF should be disclosed; how to mitigate conflicts of interest created by TPLF (including the potential for claimants to lose control over their case to funders); and the identification of any foreign individuals, entities, or countries that may be providing …

Law School News: The Surprising Impact Of Pro Bono Opportunities 9-2-2025, Suzi Morales

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Changemakers: Nate Reid : L'26 : The Surprising Impact Of Pro Bono Opportunities 09-02-2025, Suzi Morales

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Standing On Stare Decisis After Students For Fair Admissions, Areeb Asif, Lindsey Roloff

Northwestern University Law Review

The Supreme Court recognized nearly half a century ago in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke that “the ‘nation’s future depends upon leaders trained through wide exposure’ to the ideas and mores of students as diverse as this Nation of many peoples.” Nevertheless, the Court seriously undercut efforts to bring such a future to life by striking down race-conscious admissions programs in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina (collectively SFFA). Though SFFA’s binding effect is limited to educational institutions, …

Law School News : Spotlight On Trial Advocacy With Jamie Gau, L'16 : Alum And Adjunct Professor Reflects On The Strengths Of Rwu Law's Trial Advocacy Program 08-25-2025, Helga Melgar

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Middle Schoolers Explore The Rule Of Law At Second Annual Mandell-Boisclair Justice Camp 7-17-2025, Jordan J. Phelan

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Law School News: Middle Schoolers Explore The Rule Of Law At Second Annual Mandell-Boisclair Justice Camp 07-17-2025, Jordan J. Phelan

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Third-Party Litigation Funding, Jonas Anderson

Utah Law Review

As the legal system confronts rising litigation costs, technological disruption, and global investment in legal claims, the discussion around TPLF is both urgent and overdue. This symposium issue provides ways to illuminate the path forward— through scholarly engagement, critical analysis, and policy innovation.

Changemakers : Brandon Potter : L'25 : From The State House To The Court House, Andrew Clark

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Climate Exceptionalism In Court, Zachary D. Clopton, David A. Dana

Northwestern University Law Review

Across a range of cases, fossil fuel companies, government actors, and some judges have conceded that climate change is an exceptional phenomenon, only to argue that its exceptional nature is a reason to keep climate change out of court. These parties and judges thus seek to avoid the adjudication of climate cases on the merits, even when the neutral application of existing law would provide for jurisdiction in these cases. We term this phenomenon “climate jurisdiction exceptionalism.”

This Article provides a comprehensive account of climate jurisdiction exceptionalism, focusing on two main threads: Article III standing and state court jurisdiction. First, …

The Renaissance Of Private Law, Yotam Kaplan, Adi Libson, Gideon Parchomovsky

Northwestern University Law Review

Crisis is the new normal. Between global warming, the opioid pandemic, bursts of gun violence, and political instability fueled by fake news, it is hard to remember a time when we were not facing a major catastrophe. Still more troubling, there is a growing sense that our political and regulatory institutions are faltering in their ability to offer effective responses to the incoming crises. The rapid pace at which new problems emerge—together with growing political polarization—stymies regulatory and legislative action, resulting in an inability to address contemporary challenges.

Against this gloomy background, we posit an unlikely hero: private law. Recent …

Roger Williams University Law Review Symposium: Trauma-Informed Lawyering: Approaches To Advocating For Diverse Populations 11-15-2024, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.