Litigation Finance in Environmental Disputes

Lawyers play an important role in the efforts to improve environmental protection across all legal systems. Litigation finance-the process by which a third-party entity finances legal disputes at its own risk-has been found to promote access to justice across various sectors. Environmental disputes can, and should, be one of them. This timely book shows how litigation finance, used correctly, offers opportunities to serve environmental protection and deliver a positive impact.
With an extensive interdisciplinary and cross-jurisdictional examination of the legal landscape of litigation finance in Australia, England and Wales, Germany, and the United States, a thorough analysis of the globally interlinked system of environmental laws and fora, and studies of cases where litigation finance has been used to increase access to justice for people affected by environmental disasters-the book provides an actionable guide to the "dos and don'ts" in such ventures. With a focus on the four jurisdictions mentioned above, this book provides clear descriptions and analyses of topics including:

- litigation finance process and products;

- legal framework and regulatory approaches;

- cost-benefit analysis;

- "global" environmental law;

- common obstacles faced in environmental disputes, and ways to overcome them;

- challenges faced in the financing of environmental disputes, including requirements and red flags;

- strategy considerations;

- benefits of using litigation finance in environmental disputes; and

- means to incorporate environmental disputes into the portfolios of law firms and litigation finance providers.

Litigation finance has already helped victims of environmental harm to overcome financial hurdles when pursuing their claims, and therefore achieved long-term positive environmental and economic effects. With its detailed case studies, practical guidance, and viable recommendations, this book opens the way for claimholders, legal practitioners, policymakers, and scholars to navigate the legal landscape of litigation finance and the particular challenges associated with environmental disputes, to secure-or provide-financing for environmental disputes knowing opportunities and caveats, and utilize legal finance to support environmental causes by leveraging the regulatory dimension of civil dispute resolution.