WITH the election of a new federal government, the debate over third-party litigation financing has heated up. In this atmosphere, it is truly unfortunate that some, including Hugh McLernon of IMF (Australia) in The Australian recently, are brushing off the very real problems posed by the practice.
Instead, they have chosen to mischaracterise the efforts of my organisation, the US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, to curb financing abuses.
A particularly insightful presentation on the use of mediation in sports was offered at last month’s World Mediation Forum in Prague. Ozlem Susler from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia (whom Forum co-President Colin Wall called “Oz from Oz”) moderated the presentation. She noted that sports is a substantial economic driver on a global scale. Soccer alone represents 43% of the global sports economic activity.
Common disputes include trademark and intellectual property, broadcast...
