The Stage Is Set For A Boom In Litigation Funding in Scotland
With instability at the highest levels of government in Westminster, and an economic downturn preoccupying the minds of everyone from Canary Wharf to the small business owner on the high street, flexibility in third-party funding legislation is likely to drive a surge in litigation. This is particularly true in Scotland, where previous regional legislation had prevented a wider adoption of litigation financing. But now local as well as national funders are standing by to support a rise in the number of claims being filed. Writing in The Scotsman, Edward Gratwick, a legal director at Addleshaw Goddard, sees the industry moving in one direction: upward. He notes that since Scotland’s Civil Litigation Act came into law in 2020, the types of litigation finance agreements that have been allowed in this jurisdiction have significantly expanded. As a result, potential claimants who were shut out of the system due to a lack of capital, are now able to seek justice with the help of an enthusiastic cadre of funders. Mr Gratwick also highlights that while under previous regulatory structures, these funding agreements mostly revolved around insolvency cases, we should expect to see a variety of commercial cases take advantage of funding opportunities. This is further reinforced by the growth of new startup funders specifically catering to regional UK markets, as well as London-based firms hoping to find new revenue channels outside the capital.
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