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Three Quarters of Law Firms Would Consider External Ownership

Three quarters of law firms would consider selling a percentage of their business to an external buyer, new research has revealed.

A survey of 200 law firm partners commissioned by Harbour, the world’s largest independent litigation funder and law firm lender, showed that 149 of the 200 partners surveyed said their firm would consider external ownership.

The most willing to sell a percentage were the firms with a turnover of between £5m and £10m with all those questioned saying their firm would consider it.

The next most willing to consider external ownership were firms with a turnover of between £50m – £100m (89%), £30m – £50m (86%) and £10m – £30m (79%).

Those least likely to sell were those with turnovers of £400m – £500m (22%) and £100m – £400m (48%).

Of those who said they would not consider external ownership, loss of control was most cited (51%) as the key issue that would need to be resolved before they would consider selling. Other factors included future partner compensation (47%), obtaining partner consensus (37%) loss of employees (33%) and loss of culture or ethos (31%).

The survey revealed that the vast majority of law firms are willing to consider using alternative funding in the next year to 18 months, though 83% of firms said they would consider using cash reserves or asking for increased investment from partners.

Popular forms of alternative funding included bank loans (82%), greater use of contingency fee or damages based agreements (DBA) (79%), credit or lending facilities from litigation funders (78%) and stock market listing/non-lawyer shareholders (77%).

Ellora MacPherson, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at Harbour, said: “These results show that the legal sector is well and truly open for investment from external sources. With 75% of law firms considering external ownership, it is a fascinating time in the market with the trend for mergers and acquisitions set to continue. Our survey shows this isn’t just the smaller firms, but also those with substantial turnovers.

“In addition, with law firms and their partners having weathered turbulent economic times during the pandemic, it is clear that many are looking at alternative forms of investment. At a time of high interest rates, specialist lenders to the legal sector, who understand lawyers and law firms, are well-placed to provide attractive finance options.”

Survey methodology

200 law firm partners were interviewed online by Censuswide between 05.07.2022 – 20.07.2022.

About Harbour Litigation Funding

Harbour Litigation Funding is the world’s largest independently owned litigation funder. Since launching in 2007, the business has been at the forefront of the growth and development of the global funding market.

Headquartered in London, the business funds cases across the globe ranging from one-off disputes valued from circa. £1m to portfolios of multi-million-pound cases. It also funds the growth of law firms by offering credit facilities and through equity investments.

Harbour is a founder member of the Association of Litigation Funders (ALF), a member of the International Legal Finance Association (ILFA) and the Commercial Litigators’ Forum.

Ellora Macpherson is managing director and chief investment officer.

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Announcements Commercial

International Legal Finance Association (ILFA) Announces End of Year Gala and Inaugural Legal Finance Awards

By John Freund |

 The International Legal Finance Association is pleased to announce its annual End-of-Year Gala Dinner on November 13, 2025.  The event will take place at The Law Society in London, bringing together leading figures from across the legal finance industry for an evening of celebration and reflection on the year’s achievements.  

The dinner will be accompanied by the inaugural Legal Finance Awards.  The awards are designed to recognize and honor excellence across the legal finance ecosystem. They will spotlight the achievements of funders, law firms, brokers, advisors, and other key contributors to the continued growth and innovation of the industry. Nominations for the awards are now open, with the nomination form available here. 

“The Gala Dinner is a chance for our members and guests to gather in person and celebrate the progress we've made over the year,” said Rupert Cunningham, Global Director of Growth and Membership Engagement at ILFA. “We are especially excited to launch the Legal Finance Awards, which will shine a light on the outstanding work and impact of professionals across our field.”

Tickets for the Gala are on sale now, with discounted pricing available for ILFA members.  More information can be found here.

Announcements Commercial Legal Innovation

Sentry Expands Free Funding Market Search for Litigators

By John Freund |

Sentry Funding’s free tool enabling litigators to instantly search the funding market on behalf of clients has been expanded.

Sentry’s free ‘decision in principle’ feature enables lawyers to evidence to clients that they have conducted a broad market search, even if funding is not ultimately taken out.

Having deployed £125m in funding across a range of case types, Sentry now has access to an even broader funding marketplace, covering 34 global jurisdictions. Finance is provided by 13 funders, five of which are members of the Association of Litigation Funders.

With the recent addition of Sentry’s first US-based funder, the US offering will now be expanding over the next few months. 

A faster process

Sentry has deployed the latest technology to make the search for funding even easier. 

  • The intuitive application process now only asks questions relevant to previous answers, saving lawyers time.
  • The commercial marketplace has been redeveloped with 63 new data points added to the funder criteria matrix - improving the accuracy of case / funder matching
  • Sentry has also begun building out its AI capabilities, starting with an automated auditing tool for live case progression audits. 

Tom Webster, chief executive officer at Sentry Funding, said:

‘By broadening our reach and speeding up the process, we’re making it even easier for lawyers to raise funding. We’re also giving litigators an easy way to show clients they have fully researched the market, rather than just approaching one or two funders. 

‘The service is free to use, so even if clients decide they do not ultimately want funding or if none is available for that case, for the lawyer, it makes sense to use our “decision in principle” feature, so they can put evidence on file that they did check the market.’

Sentry Funding is an SaaS (software as a service) technology provider that gives solicitors access to a diverse marketplace of litigation funders. It works with solicitors, funders and third-party providers to ensure claimants are getting the most efficient service for their funding needs. 

The Sentry Portal also acts as a case management system that runs a transparent digital case file for solicitors, funders, after-the-event insurance providers, barristers, cost lawyers and other relevant third parties.

Announcements Commercial

NorthWall Capital Hits €2.9 B AUM on Private Credit Momentum

By John Freund |

NorthWall Capital has rocketed past €2.9 billion in assets under management after pulling in an additional €1.6 billion of institutional capital in 2025 alone. The London-based alternative credit manager says the surge reflects allocators’ intensifying hunt for scaled, multi-strategy platforms as Europe’s banks retrench and borrowers seek bespoke sources of credit.

A press release from NorthWall Capital details first-close totals across four distinct strategies. The flagship Credit Opportunities fund secured €731 million—already eclipsing its prior vintage—while the newly launched Senior Lending vehicle raised $503 million, translating to roughly $750 million of deployable firepower once leverage is applied. Asset-Backed Opportunities collected €252 million for collateral-rich loans in sectors underserved by traditional lenders, and the specialist Legal Assets platform locked down $169 million to extend the firm’s law-firm lending programme.

Founder and CIO Fabian Chrobog said the fundraising validates “the consistency of our approach” and NorthWall’s ability to craft solutions that resonate with investors and counterparties alike. With headcount slated to hit 40 by year-end, the firm plans to lean further into complex, situational credit born of bank deleveraging, regulatory shifts and sponsors’ need for certainty of execution.