Fee-Shifting Rules in Litigation with Contingency Fees

This paper theoretically compares the British and American fee-shifting rules in their influences on the behavior of the litigants and the outcomes of litigation. We build up a comprehensive litigation model with asymmetric information and agency costs, and solve for the equilibria under both American and British rules. We thereby compare their equilibrium settlement amounts and rates, expenditures incurred in trials, as well as the plaintiff's chances of winning and incentive to sue. The theoretical results are broadly consistent with existing empirical evidence