Litigation Nation

In Litigation Nation, Danna Brown examines the current state of the UK class action and third-party litigation funding market, the industry’s rapid growth, and the critical gaps that forthcoming legislation must address.

In Britain, a class action or a ‘collective proceeding’ is a claim brought by a large group of claimants who have suffered the same or similar harm from the same defendant, enabling them to seek compensation collectively. In third-party litigation funding, an external commercial investor pays the claimant’s legal costs and takes a share of any damages or settlement if the claim succeeds.

The Civil Justice Council’s 2025 review of the litigation funding market produced 58 recommendations for reform, yet the Starmer government committed to accepting only two. The report argues that this approach leaves the industry and system vulnerable. The report outlines the following changes that should be made to third-party litigation funding: a disclosure obligation to trace ultimate capital ownership to natural persons; sanctions screening conducted as a procedural prerequisite; and robust checks to ensure that a funder is financially fit to bear the risk it assumes when financing a claim.

Litigation Nation concludes that implementing these safeguards would give the market the institutional legitimacy on which the rule of law depends.

Media Coverage

• Civitas Video on X: ‘Why is the UK at the epicentre of class action claims across Europe?‘
• Jim McConalogue in The Critic: ‘Rethinking class action culture‘
• The Telegraph: ‘Think tank says increasing number of cases are being bankrolled by third-party litigation funding‘
• Legal Futures: ‘Think tank calls for regulation to fill litigation funding “gaps”‘

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