Partner Irfan Lateef and associate Arash Pia authored “Disclosure statements: a closer look at the identity of real plaintiffs,” for The Daily Journal.
In the article, Lateef and Pia discuss standing orders such as disclosure orders and third-party funding orders used by judges to manage their cases, highlighting in particular those of Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly.
“Proponents of Judge Connolly’s Standing Orders and similar local rules argue that disclosures of this nature are important for a fair adjudication of cases. These disclosures promote the identification of real parties in interest and make it difficult for highly sophisticated actors like hedge funds to hide behind small entities with insufficient funds to pay any attorneys’ fees that may be awarded if the court finds the litigation was frivolous,” Lateef and Pia write. They add that the disclosures also promote compliance with rules of professional conduct. On the other hand, Lateef and Pia write that opponents argue that the disclosures increase the cost of litigation for plaintiffs and can target plaintiffs who do not have “the financial ability to independently fund litigation proceedings.”
Read the full article here.
