RECKONING THE FUTURE
by its membership , engaged lobbyists in an effort to defeat this bill . Ultimately , HB 2638 passed in the Arizona House of Representatives , but was not picked up by the Senate and is thus dead . 3
Then in February 2024 , the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce , on behalf of business community stakeholders , filed a Petition to Amend AJCA Section 7-209 seeking to add definitions of “ third-party funder ” and “ material litigation or settlement decisions ,” add impracticable disclosure requirements relative to third-party funders , and task all ABS compliance lawyers with ensuring these excessive disclosure requirements . 4 The Chief Justice appointed a Task Force to review the questions raised in the Chamber of Commerce petition , as well as whether the Court should : ( 1 ) restrict ABS law firms from pursuing mass torts lawsuits , and ( 2 ) require ABS to maintain certain / specific connections to Arizona . 5 Subsequently in July 2024 , the Court expanded the Task Force ’ s evaluation to include “ information concerning third-party financing of civil litigation and its ramifications ” for ABS . 6 Four of the six scheduled Task Force meetings have occurred and a final report from the Task Force is due to the Chief Justice October 1st , 2024 .
Lastly , the first bar sanctions against an ABS 7 and its compliance lawyer 8 were handed down in May 2024 . The violations related to advertising content and representation agreements ; specifically , that television and web advertisements conflated corporate names and did not properly notify consumers of the co-counsel arrangements . 9 The Compliance Lawyer for that ABS had to step down and will not be eligible to serve as a Compliance Lawyer for an ABS for 10 years or until the applicable provision of 7-209 ( G )( 3 )( a )( 4 ) is changed . 10
Needless to say , these persnickety issues do leave those currently involved or considering involvement in ABS a bit unsettled . Information related to the potential persnickety matters being considered by the ABS Task Force remain available to all via the Arizona Supreme Court website . 11
RECKONING THE FUTURE
It is a prevalent notion that many attorneys opposed to ABS simply will not change their mind regardless of whether data
2
Ariz . House Bill 2638 ( Jan . 2024 ) https :// www . azleg . gov / legtext / 56leg / 2R / bills / HB2638P . pdf .
3
We encourage all supporters of ABS to join the National ABS Law Firm Association ; https :// abs . law .
4
Petition to Amend AJCA Sec . 7-209 , Sup . Ct . Ariz . ( Feb . 5 , 2024 ) Sup Ct Petition Rule 7-209 1-26-2024 Biz Cmty .
5
Establishment of the Task Force on Alternative Business Structures and Appointment of Members , Admin . Ord . No . 2024-51 ( Mar . 18 , 2024 ) https :// www . azcourts . gov / Portals / 22 / admorder / Orders24 / 2024-51 . pdf ? ver = K5Va6BDOuzUvDqIS1xKo7g % 3d % 3d .
6
Task Force on Alternative Business Structures to Evaluate Ramifications of Third-Party Financing , Admin . Ord . No . 2024-136 ( July 3 , 2024 ) https :// www . azcourts . gov / Portals / 22 / admorder / Orders24 / 2024-136 . pdf ? ver = XHxVTbylzRerX5JjKAqVyw % 3d % 3d .
7
In the Matter of a Licensed Alternative Business Structure , Legal Help Partners , PLLC , PDJ 2024-9035 ( May 2 , 2024 ) https :// www . azcourts . gov / Portals / 101 / 2024 / Legal % 20Help % 20 Partners % 20PLLC % 20PDJ % 202024-9035 . pdf ? ver = FHKXpihuw8PQn7H7akt1sA % 3d % 3d .
8
In the Matter of a Member of the State Bar of Arizona , Stephanie Fayth Long , PDJ 2024-9034 ( May 6 , 2024 ) https :// www . azcourts . gov / Portals / 101 / 2024 / Long % 20PDJ % 202024- 9034 % 20Bar % 20No % 20036581 . pdf ? ver = KqAFX7mcjawcKQLCwbhRTQ % 3d % 3d .
9
Id . at 2 .
10
Compliance lawyer shall not have been subject to discipline by the State Bar of Arizona or any similar agency in any other jurisdiction for the past 10 years . 11 Arizona Supreme Court Website : https :// www . azcourts . gov / cscommittees / Alternative-Business-Structures-Task-Force .