After Gawker Media published a scandalous video of wrestler Hulk Hogan, he sued the company for privacy violation, and a third party invesited $10 million to help Hogan win. Aside from personal motivations, litigation financing can be a profitable investment. At its best, the practice can help poor and powerless underdogs achieve reparations for the harms rich and powerful Goliaths have caused them. At its worst, the practice can stimulate further fiscal corruption within the U.S. legal system and ruin businesses on account of mere personal vendettas. Should litigation financing be permissible? Or does it carry too many troubling risks?

Universities are increasingly accepting private money to fund academic centers, programs, and faculty. Often, this money comes from sources that have clear political agendas. Proponents of private funding in academia argue that as long as the supported research and teaching meet the standards of acceptable scholarship, it doesn’t matter how it is funded.

US students often lag behind their peers on international tests in science and math. Recently some have proposed that cash incentives to students and/or teachers for higher test scores can help solve this problem. These might be funded by public or private sources. But there are many ethical controversies surrounding the practice