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Commercial

Litigation Lending Funds Class Action for Stolen Generations Survivors

Survivors of the so-called “Stolen Generations” may finally see their day in court. Shine Lawyers are gearing up to file a class action against the Australian government. More than 800 claimants are asking to be compensated for the loss of culture and connection to their country, and for the trauma suffered.   ABC News Australia reports on the experiences of one artist, Healthy Alley, currently age 84. Alley details being taken hundreds of miles from her family when she was eight years old. She was then sent to a brutal school with frequent beatings and only one family visit per year. All these years later, the injustices still sting. The class action is being funded by Litigation Lending Services, a third-party legal funder that provides non-recourse funding for cases. While representatives for Shine Lawyers declined to specify the amount of compensation they’re asking for—they remain confident that a sizable payout is forthcoming. The case is expected to be filed in the New South Wales Supreme Court today. The Australian government has stated in the past that there’s no legal precedent requiring them to pay compensation to their victims. Still, Shine Lawyers is adamant that despite the expense and time involved, funders and barristers are all enthusiastically onboard. According to the funding agreement, Litigation Lending Services will take a 20% cut of any award that stems from the case.
Commercial

Westpac Life Insurance Class Action Reaches Settlement

A 2017 class-action lawsuit brought by Shine Lawyers against Westpac Group has settled. The case claimed that an estimated 80,000 customers were sold unnecessarily expensive insurance between 2011-2017. The action was funded by third-party legal funder JustKapital. Financial Standard explains that Shine alleged that the clients Westpac advised paid roughly 5-10% more than those who bought identical policies through independent financial advisers. The settlement, which still must gain federal court approval, is capped at AUD $30 million. Westpac settled the case without an admission of liability. Impacted parties are encouraged to opt-in to the action to receive compensation.
Commercial

Litigation Funding in UK Hits GBP 2 Billion

Since the 2016/17 financial year, the size of the Litigation Finance market has doubled—bringing total assets under management to a whopping GBP 2 billion. Why is that? Global Legal Post points out the obvious correlation between financial unrest and increased litigation. But there’s more. Investors are increasingly seeking out investments that are uncorrelated with global markets, owing to the continued uncertainty caused by COVID. Insolvencies, insurance cases, and IP disputes are all growing in number as businesses seek out ways to shore up balance sheets and weather the pandemic. As global markets become more friendly toward third-party legal funding, the practice shows no signs of slowing. New funds are popping up regularly—including a new fund from TheJudgeGroup and Thomas Miller Group—Erso Capital.
Commercial

Litigation Funding Proves its Value in UK Post Office Scandal

Those who remain skeptical of the benefits of Litigation Finance need look no further than the recent UK Post Office case. Last week, 30 criminal convictions were vacated in an action that would not have proceeded were it not for third-party legal funding. And make no mistake—that would have been a grave injustice. Financial Times details that decades of injustice befell sub-postmasters in the UK when errors in the Post Office IT system led to accusations of widespread misappropriation of funds and false accounting. Not surprisingly, this in turn, led to ruined lives and livelihoods. These sub-postmasters were clearly wronged but lacked the means to pursue a case. Paula Vennells, former post office chief executive, refused to consider that the Horizon accounting system was to blame, and fought fiercely to drag out litigation meant to clear the names of hundreds of wronged employees. Those employees eventually received help from Therium, a third-party legal funder. Therium funded the case on a non-recourse basis, which eventually resulted in a settlement of GBP 58 million. After costs and Therium taking their share, claimants will split the remaining GBP 12 million. It may seem like the funders get the lion’s share of the settlement. Consider though, that funders take the most financial risk. The non-recourse nature of funding necessitates a higher payout, because if the case had not resulted in a payout, Therium’s investment would be a total loss. What we see in this case are ordinary citizens wronged by a corrupt system, seeing their day in court, and being compensated—thanks to Litigation Finance.
Commercial Covid-19

Trade Secrets Expert: Stephanie Southwick

There are a number of reasons for the spike in IP cases experienced in recent years. These include the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, as well as increased use of litigation funding—which has allowed small and medium-sized businesses the funds they need to pursue IP claims. To better serve clients in this area, Omni Bridgeway brought in Stephanie Southwick in September 2019. Omni Bridgeway details that Southwick’s experience and expertise make her an ideal choice to assist and advise clients with IP disputes. Southwick was a litigator for more than fifteen years and was the former Managing Partner of Greenfield Southwick LLP (an IP litigation firm) before joining Omni Bridgeway. In addition to expertise in intellectual property matters, she is also well-versed in contract and founder disputes, business torts, and employment law. In her current role, Southwick assesses cases for investment, about a third of which are related to trade secrets. When clients seek advice on preparing for a trade secrets case, she suggests three areas of focus:
  • Clearly outlining the exact trade secret at issue
  • Defining and demonstrating its value
  • Presenting evidence of the defendant’s actions regarding the use of trade secrets
According to Southwick, Omni Bridgeway can work with clients who have their own legal team in place. And it may behoove them to get their case analyzed by a specialist before hiring counsel. With IP claims set to soar even further alongside the broader legal sector, funders are wise to invest in IP expertise now, to capitalize on the continued growth.
Commercial

Trends in Litigation Finance Include Increased Corporate Use

Last year, the UK saw a sharp decline in the number of commercial litigations. This happened due to the combination of economic shortfalls, and corporations opting not to pursue litigation during a pandemic. EY research shows that nearly a third of survey respondents opted not to pursue litigation during the pandemic. That implies a backlog of meritorious claims.  Burford Capital details that while litigation is expected to increase this year, many businesses might find themselves unprepared for how expensive that litigation can become. With that in mind, EY suggests a rise in the use of Litigation Finance. As one EY partner told Law.com, the UK business community has been cautious about taking advantage of third-party funding. But as the pandemic amplifies financial uncertainty, businesses are increasingly willing to make use of the practice. As in-house lawyers grow more amenable to the concept of third-party legal finance, more are opting to use legal funding to manage risk and costs associated with litigation. In addition, there are options that funding offers which can generate income streams without pursuing additional litigation—such as monetizing existing awards or cases. So expect a litigation funding boom post-pandemic--perhaps an even larger one than we've experienced over the past few years.
Announcements Commercial

Delta Capital Partners Management Launches Delta Credit Solutions

Delta Capital Partners Management LLC, a global private equity firm specializing in litigation and legal finance, is pleased to announce the launch of a new venture, Delta Credit Solutions ("DCS"). DCS will offer an array of litigation finance credit solutions that satisfy the needs of claimants, respondents, law firms and businesses across the globe. Delta believes that traditional lenders do not treat litigation or arbitration claims, judgments or awards as valuable assets, and that Delta's experience providing equity-based litigation funding allows the firm to recognize the value behind these types of claims. Accordingly, Delta now seeks to provide a suite of credit-based financing options to individuals, businesses, law firms and other professional service firms, financial institutions, investment funds, and other parties with direct financial interests in the outcome of litigation, arbitration, or asset recovery. Delta intends to offer several types of financing products through DCS, including:
  • recourse financing for claimants, respondents, businesses, law firms and other professional service firms;
  • non-recourse portfolio financing for larger portfolios of diverse pre- and/or post-settlement claims, judgments or awards;
  • non-recourse financing for the enforcement of court judgments and arbitration awards that have already been rendered, but which have not yet been collected or are otherwise time delayed;
  • non-recourse capital facilities for law firms and other professional service firms, as well as for insolvency practitioners; and
  • non-recourse financing in a senior priority credit tranche of an otherwise equity-based litigation finance investment.
Delta believes that such an array of litigation finance credit solutions will offer many benefits by providing capital on favorable terms which can be used for a variety of purposes, including:
  • funding new or ongoing litigation, arbitration, investigations, asset recoveries or enforcement projects;
  • expanding business operations;
  • financing operating expenses and/or capital expenditures;
  • risk management and diversification; and
  • distributions or dividends to partners, shareholders and/or employees.
By combining the credit underwriting process, capacity, and cost of capital of a traditional lender with the flexibility and due-diligence expertise of a litigation funder, Delta believes it will be able to deliver optimal, customized financing solutions.   Moreover, the bespoke nature of DCS's products will enable law firms, other professional service firms, and businesses to gain liquidity by utilizing their claim portfolios and contingency cases as assets against which they can borrow. Christopher DeLise, Delta's Founder, CEO and CO-CIO, stated, "As the litigation and legal finance market continues to evolve, Delta has perceived an increased demand for credit-oriented financing arrangements for professional service firms, businesses, financial institutions and governmental entities to access cost-effective, credit-based capital for a variety of purposes, including funding, growing and de-risking their operations.  We are pleased to now be able to offer such solutions due to Delta's expertise in sourcing and underwriting that will enable us to put significant capital to work in this exciting and burgeoning area of litigation and legal finance.  By launching DCS, Delta believes that it will be able to remain a funder of choice for sophisticated parties across the globe." About Delta
Delta Capital Partners Management LLC is a global private equity firm specializing in litigation and legal finance, judgment enforcement, asset recovery, and related strategies. Delta provides capital and related services to individuals, businesses, private investment funds, law firms and other professional service firms across the world that seek to hedge their financial exposure, reduce legal spending, enhance the probability of a successful and timely resolution of claims, and maximize the effectiveness of their core businesses.
Announcements Commercial

Litigation finance specialists partner to provide funding and ATE cover

Apex Litigation Finance Limited today announces a partnership with Maxima Litigation Finance Limited to provide litigation funding to a scheme generating 200-plus cases per annum.
The partnership will see Apex provide litigation funding for the scheme from an unnamed third party, with Maxima arranging comprehensive ATE cover. Working together, the two firms have won the exclusive rights to provide these services to the scheme comprising commercial litigation cases in a specialised area. This new scheme will also provide ‘spin-off’ litigation to which Apex and Maxima will have the first option on providing funding and ATE, respectively. Speaking about this new deal Maurice Power, CEO of Apex, said: “We are extremely excited to have been chosen to provide litigation funding to this new scheme. The volume and size of cases are perfect for the Apex funding model and will make Apex one the highest volume providers of litigation funding solutions in the UK.” Maxima who have brokered litigation funding and ATE since 2007 are also enthusiastic about the arrangement. Mark Andrews, Co-Founder of Maxima says: “Our client needed a litigation funding and ATE solution bespoke and built from the ground up, Apex offered that willingness and skill to work together to build a solution.” About Apex Litigation Funding: Apex Litigation Finance Limited brings together experts from the legal and finance sectors to provide third party litigation funding to litigants (corporates, liquidators and individuals) who are unable to pursue a claim due to the prohibitive cost of litigation. Although the claim may have merits, uncertainty over the total costs and the potential risk of being ordered to pay the defendant’s cost, should they lose the claim, prohibits access to justice for many claimants. Our process is augmented by artificial intelligence systems to assess risk. As a professional litigation funder, Apex will make available funds to pay legal and other costs associated with a claim in return for an agreed share of any successful return. If there is no recovery, or if the claim is lost, there is nothing to repay. For details please see www.apexlitigation.com
Commercial

LCM Interim Results: Half Year Ending Dec 31, 2020

LCM CEO Patrick Moloney details that LCM has made strong progress in the first half of its fiscal year. Quality applications are up, and demand for legal finance is increasing as predicted. Most of the direct investment portfolio is balance sheet funded, and portfolio investments are reaching maturity. While timing remains somewhat unpredictable, that should smooth out as portfolio investments increase over time.

LCM, via Polaris, details strong increases over the period. By the numbers:

  • Total assets under management rose to AUD $322 mil by March—an increase of 92%.
  • Applications increased by 5%, totaling 266.
  • Total invested capital: AUD $99.4 million, which represents a 189% increase.
  • Gross profits: AUD $5.4 million
  • Total Equity: AUD $80.6 million.

LCM has made excellent progress in building portfolio finance agreements with a dozen resolutions in Aviation and Construction Corporate Portfolios—both of which are performing according to expectations. Partnership with DLA Piper is poised to expand reach into newer and less saturated global markets.

Chief executives remain confident of LCM’s ability to rise to the increased demand driven by the continued presence of COVID. It’s expected that financial unrest will continue until COVID is controlled around the globe. Even after a return to normalcy, the rise in insolvencies is expected to persist through the next year and beyond.