Sean Kevelighan, CEO of the Insurance Information Institute, said that attorney advertising—often supported by litigation funders—encourages unnecessary mass claims by creating urgency and unrealistic expectations. This statement was made in a press release.
“Attorney advertising has become big business in the U.S., fueling explosive growth in the likes of multi-district litigation, which solicit anyone and everyone to join frivolous and expensive cases around anything from ear plugs to weed killer, said Sean Kevelighan, CEO, Triple-I,” said Kevelighan, Chief Executive Officer. “These ads, often bankrolled by litigation funders, create urgency and overpromise outcomes, drawing in claimants who might not have otherwise considered legal action.”
In 2025, Colorado enacted HB 25-1329 to address foreign third-party litigation funding. The law requires funders to disclose agreements to the state attorney general, prohibits them from directing legal strategy, and voids noncompliant agreements. It also allows discovery into those funding deals under Colorado’s civil procedure rules. This legislative move follows increasing scrutiny of mass-tort advertising and recruiting practices and reflects a trend among states toward regulating the influence of third-party funders, according to the Colorado General Assembly.
The American Tort Reform Association’s analysis estimated U.S. spending on legal services advertising in 2024 at over $2.5 billion for approximately 26.9 million ads, marking a 39% increase from 2020 despite a slight decrease in total ad count over that period. Much of this increase was driven by rising digital ad costs and concentrated spending on mass-tort recruitment campaigns.
Product-liability cases constituted 38.3% of all pending Multidistrict Litigations (MDLs) at the end of 2024, with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation reporting 64 product-liability MDLs for that year. This indicates that MDL remains dominated by mass-tort categories often linked to aggressive advertising and funding. The steady volume of MDL filings serves as a benchmark for assessing shifts associated with surges in lawyer solicitation, according to the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.
Kevelighan has been CEO of the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) since 2016, bringing over 25 years of experience in public affairs, communications, and policy. Before joining Triple-I, he led public affairs at Zurich Insurance Group and directed strategic communications for Citigroup’s global consumer banking business. Earlier roles included serving in the George W. Bush administration as spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury and press secretary for the White House Office of Management and Budget.
The Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), founded in 1959 as a nonprofit business league (501(c)(6)), aims to improve public understanding of insurance through data, research, and education. Supported by member insurers, it has affiliated with The Institutes to expand its educational and analytic capabilities. Triple-I publishes reports, consumer guides, and media commentary to inform the public, media, and policymakers about insurance risks and trends.
