When the U.S. Chamber of Commerce last week announced its renewed push to force litigation funding deals into the sunlight through a civil rules change, the headline on its press release trumpeted an air of inevitability. “Are the Days of Undisclosed Third-Party Litigation Funding Numbered?” it asked.

The answer: Maybe, but it's a really big number. Like 877.

The reason for that has little to do with the growth of litigation funding as an industry, or how judicial attitudes toward funding may or may not be changing. Instead, it has to do with the arcane process by which rules for the 94 federal district courts across the U.S. can be changed.