On this week’s episode, our guest is Tania Sulan, CIO of Bentham Canada.

Tania spoke candidly about a number of subjects, including the challenges of opening an office in a brand new market, what makes Canada such an attractive investment opportunity, the specific differences between the Canadian and U.S. lit fin markets, and how far Canada has come in recognizing and accepting litigation finance as a valuable tool for both lawyers and claimants.

The Canadian litigation finance market is certainly heating up, which is good for Canada… because it’s cold up there. It’s also good because it means more entrants are soon to emerge: everyone from global funders like IMF Bentham extending their reach, to local funders popping up in litigation hubs such as Toronto and Vancouver, to lawyers and claimants seeking out funding opportunities… plenty of interested parties will soon be getting in on the act.

Yup, litigation finance in Canada is about to experience hockey stick growth (c’mon, I had to work in a hockey reference…), so give this episode a listen and learn a bit about litigation finance in Canada, eh.

By Mauritius Nagelmueller

This article aims to provide an overview of the most significant recent developments in the litigation finance industry. Part 2 of this 2-part series discusses the rapid growth of litigation finance across the globe, as well as its multi-dimensional expansion into diverse markets. If you’d like to reference Part 1 of this series, you can find it here.

By Mauritius Nagelmueller

This article aims to provide an overview of the most significant recent developments in the litigation finance industry. Part 1 of this 2-part series discusses the shifting policies in regard to litigation finance in both the U.S. and across the globe, as well as the potential for technological innovation to disrupt the industry in the near future.

On this episode of the Litigation Finance Podcast, our guest is Eric Schuller. Eric is the Director of Government and Community Affairs at Oasis Financial, an Illinois-based Consumer Legal Funder, and President of ARC – the Alliance for Responsible Consumer Legal Funding. ARC is a trade organization and coalition of Consumer Legal Funders dedicated to preserving the industry through political and social outreach.

Eric went in-depth on Consumer Legal Funding – who uses it, how they benefit, and how the industry operates. We discussed the Chamber of Commerce’s push to label Consumer Legal Funding transactions as loans, and how Consumer Legal Funders can best counter their arguments. We also delved into Eric’s lobbying efforts – the frank discussions he’s had with legislators, and how specifically he’s educating them to better understand the industry.

We closed on Eric’s predictions for the Consumer Legal Funding industry, and he was kind enough to share an extremely personal story from one of his clients.

If you’re at all interested in the Consumer Legal Funding space – including the challenges and opportunities therein – you need to check out this podcast!

Guest Post by Mauritius Nagelmueller, who has been involved in the litigation finance industry for more than 10 years.

Access to justice remains one of the prevailing issues within the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), especially for developing countries. To enforce the promise of a fairer trading system, developing country participation in the DSB must be improved, given that relationships between WTO members are predicated on power dynamics, rather than adherence to the rule of law.

Third party funding has provided access to justice for claimants with meritorious claims, but with limited financial capacity in the private sector, as well as in investor-state disputes. The industry is also capable of leveling the playing field in the DSB, as it can be utilized by developing countries to finance a WTO dispute.