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A Recap of the Opening Panel at LF Dealmakers

September 28, 2022

A Recap of the Opening Panel at LF Dealmakers

Day 1 of the LF Dealmakers conference has begun. The opening panel saw Ted Farrell, founder of Litigation Funding Advisors, moderate a wide-ranging discussion on the state of legal finance. Panelists included James Bedell, Associate Director of Legal Finance at Yieldstreet, Cindy Chen Delano, Partner at Invictus Global Management, Stephen Kyriacou, Managing Director of Aon, and Michael Nicolas, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Longford Capital. The discussion began with the evolution of the sector as a maturing asset class, away from discussions between ‘smart lawyers’ and into the mainstream. The panel underscored the range of players in the space now—3M, J&J, and others—which illustrates how far the industry has come. Additionally, the size and scope of claims—large-scale, nine-figure claims—which highlights the impact the asset class has had on the broader Legal Services sector. Additionally, the embrace of litigation funding by Big Insurance is a signal of the industry’s ongoing growth prospects. Michael Nicolas of Longford noted how his firm can now protect principal investment, and even some of the profit they’d like to return to investors, which is ‘a game changer,’ as now credit investors can consider becoming LPs because they can grow more comfortable with the risk profile of the sector. Cindy Chen Delano echoed the ‘game-changer’ remark, noting the different types of debt structures that can be originated now that insurance is on board, all the way up to high-yield bonds, which she sees coming down the pike. Stephen Kyriacou of Aon also pointed out how he was one of two insurance providers at last year’s conference, and there was no discussion of the subject. This year, there are more insurers in attendance, and the subject has already come up in the first discussion, and will continue to as the event progresses. Perhaps something unique about this conference is the encouragement of questions from the audience. The first panel took a question from an inventor who stressed the importance of funding in the inventor space, and lamented that in his experience it’s been so difficult to obtain the financing needed. The panel acknowledged his concern, and noted the industry’s emphasis on IP investment, while also pointing out that selectivity is paramount if a funder is going to survive long-term.

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Malaysia’s New Arbitration Funding Rules Follow Collapse of Therium-Backed Sulu Claim

Two Malaysian jurists have published a retrospective on the Sulu arbitration, drawing a direct line from the failure of the funded US$15 billion claim against Malaysia to the statutory framework the country has since built around third-party funding of arbitration.

As reported by The Edge Malaysia, the piece is written by Tan Sri Zainun Ali, a former Federal Court judge, and barrister J J Chan. They note that the claim brought by parties describing themselves as heirs of the Sultan of Sulu "was reportedly backed by third-party litigation funding, attributed in public reports to Therium Capital Management," on the usual basis that the funder would take a return if the claim succeeded.

It did not. The Paris Court of Appeal annulled the award in full on 9 December 2025, holding that no valid arbitration agreement capable of binding Malaysia existed. The claimants were ordered to pay Malaysia €200,000 in costs, and separately lost costs orders in proceedings before the Netherlands Supreme Court.

The legislative response is the part with the longest reach. Malaysia's Arbitration (Amendment) Act 2024 took effect on 1 January 2026 and, in the authors' description, "brings third-party funding of arbitration within a clear statutory framework," requiring disclosure of both the funding arrangement and the identity of the funder.

For funders, the sequence is instructive: a single high-profile enforcement campaign against a sovereign produced a disclosure regime that will now apply to every funded arbitration seated in the jurisdiction.

Commercial

New York Poll Finds Nearly 80% of Voters Would End Third-Party Litigation Funding

A statewide survey of likely New York voters has found that close to four in five would do away with third-party litigation funding altogether, placing the practice among the least popular items in a broad tort reform poll.

According to the Empire Center for Public Policy, which commissioned the survey from Cygnal and published the results on 2 September, 79.7% said they support ending the arrangement under which outside investors finance lawsuits in return for a share of any recovery.

Litigation funding did not stand alone. The poll found 94.5% supporting prosecution of staged-accident fraud, 83.4% favouring limits on pain-and-suffering awards, 79.7% backing changes to workplace-injury liability rules, 77% supporting reforms aimed at frivolous lawsuits, and 66.6% in favour of amending the Scaffold Law, New York's absolute-liability statute for elevation-related construction injuries.

The clustering matters as much as the individual figures. Funding is being tested here alongside fraud and damages caps rather than as a discrete question about access to capital, and the framing offered to respondents describes investors financing lawsuits for a portion of the proceeds without reference to claimants who could not otherwise bring a case.

New York enacted consumer legal funding protections earlier this year, and the state has no disclosure statute covering commercial funding. Polling of this kind is likely to be cited in Albany as the next session approaches, and funders should expect the 79.7% figure to travel well beyond the survey it came from.

Commercial

DIFC Court Orders Defendant to Reveal Who Is Funding His Legal Team in $456M TrueUSD Case

A Dubai court has given a defendant in a $456 million stablecoin dispute until 7 September to swear an affidavit identifying who has been paying his lawyers, in an unusually direct judicial demand for the source of a litigant's legal funding.

As reported by CryptoSlate, the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts made the order in *Techteryx Ltd v Aria Commodities DMCC and others*, the proceedings over $456 million transferred out of the reserves backing the TrueUSD token. Matthew William Brittain, one of the respondents, must disclose by 4pm Gulf Standard Time.

The order is specific about what is wanted. Brittain must give the amounts, dates and bank accounts behind fees paid to Quinn Emanuel, Horizons, Gall, Campbells and FTI Consulting, identify the original sources and ultimate beneficial owners of those funds, explain how the accounts were funded and produce supporting documents. It singles out $1,083,912.49 paid by Aria Bio Industries FZE on 31 October 2025.

Compliance is required "to the best of his ability," and the court indicated that further adjournments would need "the most extreme circumstances" backed by strong evidence. Sanctions are not automatic; Techteryx would have to apply. A committal hearing with a four-day estimate is listed for 26 October.

Most disclosure fights concern claimant-side funding. This one runs the other way, and shows a court treating the defence's funding chain as a matter it is entitled to see.