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Highlights from the 6th Annual LF Dealmakers Conference

October 5, 2023

Highlights from the 6th Annual LF Dealmakers Conference

From September 26th-28th, LF Dealmakers hosted its sixth annual event in New York City. The three-day conference kicked off with a workshop on navigating the Mass Torts landscape, and an opening reception at the James Hotel. Days two and three featured panel discussions and networking opportunities between key stakeholders in the litigation finance space. Wendy Chou, founder of LF Dealmakers, was extremely pleased with the outcome of the event: “For six consecutive years, LF Dealmakers has sold out, a testament to the growing interest and importance of litigation finance in today’s legal landscape. We are immensely proud to have created a platform where the best minds in the litigation finance and legal sectors can come together for powerful connections and productive discussions.” Day two began with a pair of panels on the overall state of the industry and an insider’s approach to getting the best deal. The latter included a panel of experts, including Fred Fabricant, Managing Partner of Fabricant LLP, Molly Pease, Managing Director of Curiam Capital, and Boris Ziser, Partner at Schulte Roth and Zabel. The discussion revolved around the following topics:
  • Getting up to speed on funding & insurance products
  • How to fast track diligence and deal with exclusivity
  • Negotiating key terms and spotting red flags
  • Benchmarking numbers & making the waterfall work for you
One interesting point arose on the issue of judgement preservation in the IP space, where Fred Fabricant explained that he hasn’t seen a lot of insurance products in the pre-judgement section. “There are too many uncertainties, and it is very hard to assess the risk in this phase of the case.”  Fabricant is looking forward to insurance products in this phase. “In post-judgement, much easier for insurance to assess the risk, because you’ve eliminated lots of uncertainties.” Click here for the full recap of this panel discussion. The featured panel of Day 2 was titled: “The Great Debate: Trust and Transparency in Litigation Finance.” The panel consisted of Nathan Morris, SVP of Legal Reform Advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Legal Reform, Charles Schmerler, Head of Litigation Finance at Pretium Partners, and Maya Steinitz, Professor of Law at Boston University. The panel was moderated by Michael Kelley, Partner at Parker Poe. This unique panel was structured as a pair of debates (back-to-back), followed by an open forum involving panelists and audience questions. On the topic of ‘what is a litigation funder?’ what perhaps seems like an obvious question sparked a passionate back-and-forth between moderator Michael Kelley and Charles Schmerler over whether entities such as legal defense funds and the Chamber of Commerce should technically be classified as litigation funders. After all, the Chamber accepts donations and then uses its capital to file claims—so would donors to the Chamber be considered litigation funders? One interesting point came from Schmerler, who noted that causal litigation is different from commercial litigation—especially from a public policy perspective. So conflating them under the semantic of ‘litigation funding’ isn’t as useful, even if they can each be technically classified as litigation funding. Click here for a full recap of this panel discussion. Day three offered four panels and three roundtable discussions, followed by a closing reception. One panel focused on opportunities in Mass Torts and ABS, and consisted of Jacob Malherbe, CEO of X Social Media, Sara Papantonio, Partner at Levin Papantonio Rafferty, and Ryan Stephen, Managing Partner of Pine Valley Capital Partners. The panel was moderated by Steve Nober, CEO of Consumer Attorney Marketing Group (CAMG). The wide-ranging discussion covered the following topics:
  • Who’s doing what in mass torts? How about funding?
  • How funders are evaluating and working with firms
  • Examples of the ABS framework in action & challenges
  • Pre- and post-settlement funding and time to disbursement
One key point for funders to consider, is that as more funders enter the mass torts space, they need to be cognizant of ethical considerations around marketing, PR, claimant communications—all aspects of a case that are unique to class actions and mass torts. Congress is now taking a look at how law firms market to prospective claimants, and should any lawsuits arise, funders will no doubt be corralled into the mix. Given that, it is critical for funders to mitigate the inherent risks by asking more questions at the outset of case diligence: What kind of advertising is being used, where are the clients coming from, how do I know that the clients are real (ad tracking)?  Funders need to be proactive about managing risk, rather than getting caught on the wrong side of a PR headache. Click here for a full recap of this panel discussion. Additional panel discussions covered topics such as successful models of cost and risk sharing, managing IP risk, and a CIO roundtable featuring investors in the space. In addition to the knowledge-sharing, attendees were able to network with founders, CEOs, C-suite officers, thought leaders and other key stakeholders in the litigation finance space. All of which makes the LF Dealmakers event the ongoing success that it is. Founder Wendy Chou spoke to the core ethos of the event: “At Dealmakers, we believe that connections and conversations are the keys to progress. At this year’s LF Dealmakers Forum, we were honored to host a number of critical conversations, including a thought-provoking debate on trust and transparency. It was a historic moment as we welcomed a representative from the US Chamber of Commerce to our stage, marking their first-ever appearance at a litigation finance industry event. It speaks to our commitment to open dialogue and advancing important discussions within our community.”

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Commercial Regulatory Issues

France Issues Decree Regulating Third-Party Funded Collective Actions

By John Freund |

France has taken a significant step in codifying oversight of third-party financed collective actions with the issuance of Decree No. 2025-1191 on December 10, 2025.

An article in Legifrance outlines the new rules, which establish the procedure for approving entities and associations authorized to lead both domestic and cross-border collective actions—referred to in French as “actions de groupe.” The decree brings long-anticipated regulatory clarity following the April 2025 passage of the DDADUE 5 law, which modernized France’s collective redress framework in line with EU Directive 2020/1828.

The decree grants authority to the Director General of Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) to process applications for approval. Final approval is issued by ministerial order and is valid for five years, subject to renewal.

Approved organizations must meet specific governance and financial transparency criteria. A central provision of the new rules is a requirement for qualifying entities to publicly disclose any third-party funding arrangements on their websites. This includes naming the financiers and specifying the amounts received, with the goal of safeguarding the independence of collective actions and protecting the rights of represented parties.

Paul de Servigny, Head of litigation funding at French headquartered IVO Capital said: “As part of the transposition of the EU’s Representative Actions Directive, the French government announced a decree that sets out the disclosure requirements for the litigation funding industry, paving the way for greater access to justice for consumers in France by providing much welcomed clarity to litigation funders, claimants and law firms.

"This is good news for French consumers seeking justice and we look forward to working with government, the courts, claimants and their representatives and putting this decree into practice by supporting meritorious cases whilst ensuring that the interests of consumers are protected.”

By codifying these requirements, the French government aims to bolster public trust in group litigation and ensure funders do not exert improper influence on the course or outcome of legal actions.

Case Developments Commercial

Privy Council to Hear High-Profile Appeal on Third-Party Funding

By John Freund |

The United Kingdom's Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is set to hear a closely watched appeal that could have wide-ranging implications for third-party litigation funding in international arbitration. The case stems from a dispute between OGD Services Holdings, part of the Essar Group, and Norscot Rig Management over the enforcement of a Mauritius-based arbitral award. The Supreme Court of Mauritius had previously upheld the award in favor of Norscot, prompting OGD to seek review from the Privy Council.

An article in Bar & Bench reports that the appeal is scheduled for next year and will feature two prominent Indian senior advocates: Harish Salve KC, representing Norscot, and Nakul Dewan KC, representing OGD. At issue is whether the use of third-party funding in the underlying arbitration renders the enforcement of the award improper under Mauritius law, where third-party litigation funding remains a legally sensitive area.

The case is drawing significant attention because of its potential to shape the international enforceability of funding agreements, particularly in light of the UK Supreme Court's 2023 PACCAR decision. That ruling dramatically altered the legal landscape by classifying many litigation funding agreements as damages-based agreements, thereby subjecting them to stricter statutory controls. The PACCAR decision has already triggered calls for legislative reform in the UK to preserve the viability of litigation funding, especially in the class action and arbitration contexts.

The Privy Council appeal will test the legal boundaries of funder involvement in arbitration and may help clarify whether such arrangements compromise enforceability when judgments cross borders. The outcome could influence how funders structure deals in jurisdictions with differing attitudes toward third-party involvement in legal claims.

Case Developments Commercial

Banks Win UK Supreme Court Victory in $3.6B Forex Lawsuit

By John Freund |

Several major global banks, including JPMorgan, UBS, Citigroup, Barclays, MUFG, and NatWest, have successfully blocked a £2.7 billion ($3.6 billion) opt-out collective action in the UK’s Supreme Court. The proposed lawsuit, led by Phillip Evans, aimed to represent thousands of investors, pension funds, and institutions impacted by alleged foreign exchange (forex) market manipulation.

An article in Yahoo Finance reports that the case stemmed from earlier European Commission findings that fined multiple banks over €1 billion for operating cartels in forex trading. Evans’ action, filed under the UK’s collective proceedings regime, sought to recover damages on behalf of a wide investor class. However, the Supreme Court upheld a lower tribunal’s decision that the claim could not proceed on an opt-out basis, requiring instead that individual claimants opt in.

The judgment emphasized the insufficient participation rate among potential class members and found that an opt-out mechanism was not appropriate given the specifics of the case. Justice Vivien Rose, delivering the court’s opinion, noted that while individual claims might have merit, the representative structure lacked the cohesion and commitment necessary to justify a mass claim. As a result, the banks have succeeded in halting what would have been one of the largest collective actions in the UK to date.