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Aon Joins The European Litigation Funding Association (ELFA)

September 19, 2023

Aon Joins The European Litigation Funding Association (ELFA)

The European Litigation Funding Association (ELFA) is pleased to announce Aon’s Litigation Risk Group, the litigation risk solutions arm of Aon’s M&A and Transaction Solutions, has joined ELFA as an associate member.  “ELFA founding members are on the forefront of litigation finance in Europe”, said Paul Jeroen van de Grampel, Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Aon’s Litigation Risk Group. ”As a pioneer of litigation risk and insurance capital solutions, it is important for Aon to offer its leadership as part of ELFA and continue to shape this industry. ”  Van de Grampel added, “We are delighted to join ELFA and look forward to collaborating with like-minded professionals and industry leaders to build a deeper understanding of litigation funding within the industry. Aon is well positioned to contribute valuable insight on how litigation funding can be leveraged as a valuable tool for access to justice and, where possible, seek combinations with insurance solutions, to better support the growth of fair and effective dispute resolution mechanisms and shape better decisions.”  Omni Bridgeway Managing Director and ELFA Chairman, Wieger Wielinga commented: “ELFA was established to serve as the European voice of the commercial litigation funding industry, and we are immensely proud to welcome reputable and knowledgeable professional services firms such as Aon. The members of ELFA look forward to collaborating with Paul Jeroen and the entire Aon Litigation Risk Group who have decades of experience with the practice of litigation funding globally and particularly in the context of European civil law. Their expertise with litigation risk transfer through insurance will create deeper understanding in the market and help clients leverage bespoke insurance solutions.”
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Case Developments Commercial

Siltstone Sues Ex-GC Over ‘Stolen’ Trade Secrets

By John Freund |

A funder-versus-insider fight has erupted in Texas, where Siltstone Capital alleges its former general counsel Manmeet Walia secretly formed a rival vehicle and siphoned opportunities using Siltstone’s confidential materials. The complaint names a would-be investor, Hazoor Select LP, and a new venture, Signal Peak Partners, as pieces of the purported plan.

According to Bloomberg Law, Siltstone contends that Walia set up the competing effort while still employed, diverting deals and leveraging trade secrets. Details on damages and requested relief weren’t immediately available, but the fact pattern reads like a classic private-capital dust-up: restrictive covenants, fiduciary duties, and the hard-to-quantify value of a nascent pipeline in a niche asset class.

The case spotlights the growing institutionalization of litigation finance: the closer the industry looks to mainstream private credit or PE, the more it inherits their playbook of non-competes, IP enforcement, and investor-relations friction.

A decisive ruling could nudge funders toward more standardized employment covenants and trade-secret protocols—especially around deal pipelines and model IP—potentially raising operating costs but lowering leakage risk across the sector.

Commercial Deals

Burford Backs Kindleworth to Launch Next-Gen Firms

By John Freund |

Burford Capital has taken a strategic step further into firm-side infrastructure, investing in Kindleworth—the operations partner behind a wave of high-performing specialist law firms—in a bid to accelerate launches and scale boutique platforms.

A press release in PR Newswire reports that Kindleworth has helped bring more than 50 firms and offices to market globally, supporting over 1,000 lawyers across strategy, compliance, finance, technology and BD/marketing. The investment is pitched as fuel for “next-generation” firms: elite, focused teams that prefer an outsourced, non-legal backbone to preserve partner time for client work. Recent Kindleworth-supported names include Three Crowns LLP, Northridge Law and Pallas Partners—case studies for how a fit-for-purpose MSO model can enable premium work without BigLaw overhead.

For Burford, the move underscores its foray into law-firm operations, where capital can unlock growth in tech, talent, and pricing innovation without touching the practice of law. It also dovetails with the industry’s growing interest in MSO structures that separate ownership of back-office functions from lawyer-owned entities, sidestepping non-lawyer ownership bans while still injecting outside capital into operations.

If early results show faster time-to-launch, healthier margins, and better cost control for boutiques, expect rivals to explore similar partnerships with legal-ops platforms—or to stand up their own. Open questions remain around governance: how information flows between an MSO partner and a funder, how conflicts are policed, and whether ethics regulators will ask for clearer guardrails as more deals close.

Commercial Legal Innovation

WinJustice Pushes Litigation Finance into LegalTech and SaaS

By John Freund |

Litigation funding may soon be more than a tool for plaintiffs — it’s shaping up to be a cornerstone of growth strategy for tech startups, according to a new thought piece by funder WinJustice.

A recent post on LinkedIn from the firm outlines how litigation funders are expanding their remit to support LegalTech and SaaS companies embroiled in high-stakes litigation over IP, data privacy, and cross-border regulatory issues. As these companies scale, legal exposure often rises faster than revenue, making litigation finance not just a defensive tool, but a growth enabler.

For early- and growth-stage tech firms, litigation costs can cripple cash flow and deter investment. WinJustice argues that non-recourse funding allows companies to protect IP and contractual rights without diverting resources from R&D or expansion. By absorbing litigation costs — and recovering only on success — funders offer startups a financial shield that levels the playing field against larger adversaries.

The piece also explores how LegalTech platforms are feeding value back into the funding ecosystem. AI tools now assist funders with diligence, risk modeling, and portfolio management, creating what WinJustice calls a “two-way synergy” between finance and technology. The UAE, with its dual ecosystems in litigation funding (DIFC and ADGM) and tech innovation, is spotlighted as an ideal hub for this convergence.

The strategic implications stretch across stakeholders: founders get breathing room, legal departments shift from cost centers to value creators, and funders broaden their pipeline while enhancing operational efficiency. As litigation funding migrates from courtrooms to cap tables, WinJustice paints a future where disputes are assets, not liabilities.