As corporate defendants introduce aggressive new terms targeting litigation funders, access to justice concerns mount for plaintiffs in resource-intensive cases, writes Brianne Holland-Stergar, a nonresident fellow at Stanford Law School's Deborah L. Rhode Center on the Legal Profession.
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Uber Technologies Inc.'s new terms require users who sue to disclose litigation funding agreements and waive multiple legal protections. Holland-Stergar notes the company buried the unannounced revisions in a 14,000-word clickwrap agreement few users read.

While the terms face enforceability challenges, they may achieve deterrent effects amid growing opposition to litigation finance. Holland-Stergar argues that despite legitimate questions about the industry, Uber's tactics appear to be "a self-interested attempt to shoo funders away from lawsuits intended to hold the company accountable."

Read the full opinion:

Uber’s New Litigation Funding Terms Would Hinder Accountability

Opinion: Uber’s revised terms requiring access to documents exchanged with third-party litigation funders are likely unlawful but could effectively...

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Stanford researchers are using AI to tackle a growing problem: outdated regulations that slow government and hinder public services.

The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI and Stanford RegLab developed an AI tool that scanned 500 million words of state statutes across all 50 U.S. ...states, identifying "policy sludge"—obsolete processes and reporting requirements that trap civil servants in red tape.

"This is a direct example of how AI can benefit millions of people," says Daniel E. Ho, faculty director of the RegLab, associate director at HAI, and a Stanford Law School professor. "These tools can clean up outdated requirements, reduce burdens on civil servants, and enable government to serve regular people."

The research has already prompted action. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order this month directing agencies to conduct a "regulatory reset." RegLab is partnering with New York, California, and Maryland to help streamline their legal codes and improve services for residents navigating business licenses, building permits, and other bureaucratic processes.

Read more:

How AI is Helping States Cut Through Decades of Red Tape | Stanford Law School

(Originally published by The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI on July 23, 2026.) Bureaucracy moves slowly, and decades of outdated provisions

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