Litigation in the United States is an expensive undertaking. Mounting an adequate legal defense or offense can easily cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and lie beyond the reach of many people with legitimate claims.

 Justice should not be accessible only to those with deep pockets. Enter litigation financing firms that underwrite the legal costs for selected lawsuits.

Litigation financing firms have had very high returns for their investors over the last decade. But partnership in such a firm is just not something that is accessible to most people.

Initial Litigation Offerings (ILOs) democratize litigation financing by tokenizing the process of financially supporting a deserving lawsuit. A litigant can use ILOs to raise money to be used towards legal costs, and return winnings, if any, to the token holders.

This, in turn, creates a new asset class that has the potential to disrupt the justice system, making it fairer and more efficient for all. And it gives everyday people more opportunity to pursue claims they may not have otherwise.

Plus, counterparty (aka “rug pull”) risk is limited: the lawsuits take place in public, under very clear rules that have been honed over hundreds of years. And if there is a cause you stand behind, you can now support their legal plight if they do an ILO.

Of course, there are many risks associated with financing lawsuits, including the risk of losing the case and getting $0.

Now let’s talk about the first case today, which arises out of one of the largest alleged wholesale destruction of crops by a state official in the history of the United States.

Aphotic is bringing a lawsuit against Kern County’s Sheriff Department, which allegedly destroyed their crop in 2019, and is seeking up to $1B in damages. The campaign is seeking $250K in funds on Republic’s platform under SEC’s Regulation CF.

Tokenizing a once walled-off asset class, with the power, speed and security of blockchains, will open further opportunities in a new space.

This creates a big win for the crypto industry, offering more opportunities for instruments, while also providing a public good to those seeking justice.

Community Response:  Do New York residents have access to the ILO? I think my republic account was flagged previously for unknown reasons – I assume it has to do with jurisdictional issues.

If investors lose the case, they should be airdropped an “I invested in this ILO and all I got was this lousy NFT.