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The legal finance industry, which advances cash to plaintiffs waiting for their lawsuits to be resolved, has launched its first national trade association in an attempt to raise standards and improve its image. According to a March 28, 2005 article in The National Law Journal, the New York-based American Legal Finance Association (ALFA) has been formed by a consortium of 11 national companies that have agreed to adhere to the "best practices" guidelines set out for the future-settlement financing industry, also known as nonrecourse funding or interim financing.