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Key Takeaways from LFJ’s Podcast with Steve Shinn

December 13, 2021

Key Takeaways from LFJ’s Podcast with Steve Shinn

On the latest episode of the LFJ Podcast, Steven Shinn, founder of FinLegal, described the solutions his platform provides for both funders and lawyers, and explains his company’s points of differentiation with other third party platform providers.

Q: Why move into litigation funding and after-the-event insurance? Can you explain how FinLegal’s offerings are different than those of traditional funders?

A: Absolutely. I think one of the challenges is that the litigation funding market could grow a great deal. But there are challenges where lawyers don’t necessarily understand litigation funding, and there are a lot more funders that you can go to. So you want to help educate people who are new to litigation funding and ATE about how to access it and how it works.

There are more funders joining, which is increasing the number of claims that get funded. So whereas before you might have only had funders looking to deploy $5 million to a claim, you now find situations where there are funders who want to deploy as little as $100,000 or less. So there’s a much broader range of funders…and it’s hard to go to all of them individually and it’s hard to know who’s in the market.

We thought, let’s build a sticky platform which provides the law firm with visibility and control over those funding requests, and let’s give them an online process (to write the best possible funding request) in terms of how it’s positioned to the funders so that it does get funding. With lots of funders to navigate, let’s build a platform to help lawyers navigate them, help them understand it—and let’s help them put forward the request with the best possible positioning.

Q: You mentioned getting involved in group actions (the UK version of US-style class actions). What got you interested in that space particularly, and does your technology background in any way penetrate that space?

A: Definitely. It started out as me seeing the VW group claim, and also seeing cartel claims, price-fixing on football shirts, and things like this. With my technology background, I thought ‘Well, how are law firms doing this?’

I saw that they had a lot of off-line case management platforms, they use a lot of spreadsheets. You know these systems didn’t talk to each other. There’s a lot of manual effort and no mobile interfaces for claimants to interact with the law firm. So I thought, ‘We can build a platform that will enable that.’ Essentially, we’d be taking a completely fresh look at it. With a technology and software development background and a product development background. How do we build/provide something that enables lawyers to spend the least time possible working with each claim. We know that’s important to the economics of the claim—not having to spend a lot of manual effort on each claim.

So that’s what we produced, a solution that works on a management by exception basis, so essentially the claimant goes through an automated set of steps. And where they fall out of those steps or where they don’t meet certain criteria, only then do they need to get picked up by the law firm.

Q: I know you offer a claim automation solution, can you explain what this solution does?

A: The main benefit of the solution is that it increases the volume of clients. So what you tend to find, is if there’s a bad claimant experience, people fall out of the process. You’ve spent money on acquiring that claimant, you spend advertising pounds or dollars to get them into your funnel, to start working with them. But they become disenfranchised from your process, right? Or they don’t like getting a lot of phone calls, or they feel like the process is insecure and it happens via Email without clear instruction. So if you have a good online process, it increases the volume of clients. That’s the first thing.

And it reduces the amount of time spent per client also, because…the law firm is only working with clients who fall out of the automated process. It’s also plug-n-play, so if you want to start work on a new type of matter it might be that this week you’re building a book of emissions claimants, and the following week you want to launch a shareholder claim.

You can launch that from the platform in a matter of days and start book building. You’re not having to have lots of different contractors and different systems that you have to modify to start doing something new or different. You talk to us, we set it up for you, and then you manage it through an interface that you’re very familiar with.

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The Next Battleground in Consumer Legal Funding: Discovery and Transparency

By John Freund |

A growing legal debate is taking shape over whether consumer legal funding agreements should be subject to discovery during litigation, with significant implications for plaintiffs and the funding industry alike.

As reported by the National Law Review, Eric Schuller of the Alliance for Responsible Consumer Legal Funding argues that mandatory disclosure requirements create strategic advantages for defendants by exposing plaintiffs' financial vulnerabilities and sensitive underwriting information.

Defendants and insurers have increasingly pushed for access to funding agreements, framing their requests as transparency measures. Proponents say disclosure could reveal whether funders are influencing litigation strategy and promote accountability in the civil justice system.

Critics counter that forcing plaintiffs to produce funding contracts may discourage injured individuals from seeking legitimate financial assistance during lengthy cases. Consumer legal funding arrangements are non-recourse, meaning plaintiffs repay only if their case results in a successful settlement or verdict.

Several states have proposed or enacted laws requiring varying degrees of disclosure — from simple notification that funding exists to full production of contract terms. The debate reflects broader tensions between transparency and consumer protection that continue to shape litigation funding regulation across the country.

Commercial

Mastercard and Visa Secure Appeal in UK Multilateral Interchange Fee Battle

By John Freund |

The London Court of Appeal has granted Mastercard and Visa permission to challenge a landmark ruling that found their multilateral interchange fees in breach of European competition law, extending one of the most significant funded litigation battles in UK history.

As reported by PYMNTS, the appeal follows a unanimous June 2025 decision by the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal in favor of hundreds of merchants who alleged they had been paying excessive fees.

Both payment networks welcomed the ruling. A Visa representative stated that interchange is "a critical component to maintaining a secure digital payments ecosystem that benefits all parties." Scott+Scott, the law firm representing the merchant claimants, called the original tribunal decision "a significant win for all merchants" and expressed confidence in defending it on appeal.

The case has drawn significant attention from the litigation funding community, as merchant claims against card networks have become a major category of funded litigation in the UK. Similar proceedings continue in the United States, where the Visa-Mastercard interchange fee class action produced a settlement estimated between $5.56 billion and $6.26 billion.

Federal Reserve research indicates that approximately 86 percent of interchange fees fund cardholder rewards programs — a dynamic at the center of the ongoing legal disputes on both sides of the Atlantic.

Commercial

California Targets Litigation Funding with New Regulations

By John Freund |

California lawmakers are pursuing new regulations aimed at the litigation funding industry, adding the state to a growing list of jurisdictions seeking to impose oversight on third-party funding practices.

As reported by the Daily Journal, California legislators have introduced measures that would bring increased transparency and regulatory scrutiny to the litigation funding sector. The move comes as states across the country grapple with how to regulate an industry that has grown rapidly in recent years.

The proposed regulations reflect broader national momentum toward litigation funding oversight. Several states have already enacted or proposed disclosure requirements and other regulatory frameworks, while federal legislation including the Litigation Funding Transparency Act of 2026 remains under debate in Congress.

California's entry into the regulatory conversation is significant given the state's outsized role in the U.S. legal market. As one of the largest jurisdictions for both consumer and commercial litigation, any regulatory framework adopted in California could serve as a model for other states considering similar measures.

The development adds to an increasingly active regulatory landscape for litigation funders, who face growing calls for transparency from lawmakers, courts, and industry groups alike.