Federal judges from Florida to Ohio have ordered plaintiffs attorney to disclose any third-party funding they receive to support their multidistrict litigation.

As rulemakers and politicians debate whether third-party disclosures should be required, the judges have pushed ahead with mandates of their own.

In the past year, judges in at least three cases have ordered disclosures, in most cases right up front during the process of appointing plaintiffs attorneys to leadership teams. The three MDLs include some of the largest mass torts in the country.