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Consumer

Court Orders Tom Girardi to Reveal Financials in Law Finance Claim

Tom Girardi, of the eponymous law firm Girardi Keese, has been ordered to deliver to his financials to the court after he failed to pay $6MM of a $16MM settlement with Law Finance Group. Law Finance sued Girardi for failure to repay a $15MM loan, and eventually settled on the $16MM figure, only to claim that Girardi skipped out on the final $6MM payment. As reported in The Blast, the court's order comes just days after Girardi's wife and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne was slapped with a $3MM lawsuit by Arizona-based law firm funder Stillwell Madison. Stillwell is also suing Girardi for alleged failure to repay an over $5MM loan the funder made. Stillwell is suing for the full $5MM, plus interest and damages. The embattled Girardi has been accused by both funders of spending their money on his and his wife's 'lavish lifestyle.' In addition to her role on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Jayne sings a song titled "It’s Expensive to Be Me."
Commercial

Hedge Fund Muddy Waters Alleges Burford’s Largest Shareholder Invesco Bailed Out One of its Clients

US-based hedge fund Muddy Waters has caused some serious ripples with its allegations against Burford Capital. In a recently released video, Muddy Waters CEO contends that Burford's largest shareholder - Invesco - essentially bailed out Napo Pharmaceuticals, a company whose legal claim Burford was financing. In 2013, Burford categorized Napo as a 'concluded investment,' with an ROIC of 113%. Yet according to Block, "there was actually a jury verdict in that case the next year, in 2014." The verdict was a loss for Napo, yet Burford had already concluded the case as a positive ROIC. Block claims that Burford entered into an agreement with Napo - the circumstances of which are unknown - whereby Napo owed Burford money. Yet after the jury verdict, Napo had to enter into a debt forbearance agreement, since it had no money to repay Burford. According to Block, Napo was merged into another company - Jaguar Animal Health - also run by Napo head Lisa Conte.  Jaguar then raised $8MM, and subsequently issued $8MM of stock to Burford. Block alleges that $3MM of the $8MM raised by Jaguar came from a fund managed by Mark Barnett, who is the protege of well-known UK investor Neil Woodford. So according to Block, an Invesco subsidiary - run by Mark Barnett - essentially bailed out a Burford investment. Block also contends that Burford likely 'wouldn't exist' if not for Woodford's investment. Woodford was previously at Invesco, before founding his hedge fund Woodford Investment Management. Block alleges that Burford got to mark up a positive ROIC during several years subsequent to the Napo case - in 2013 and 2014. According to Block, Burford's 2013 annual report claims a 53% ROIC. "Without Napo... the ROIC would have been only 2.9%." Block claims the company has been misleading investors for years, "and that pattern continues today." No response yet from Burford's management about the allegations, which have sent the stock plummeting 50%.
Commercial

New Survey Shows 98% of Attorneys Who Use Litigation Finance Would Re-Use

A new survey by Validity Finance and ALM has yielded some impressive results for litigation funders to harp onto. A full 98% of attorneys surveyed who had used litigation finance at least once in the past said they would do so again, and 93% found their experience to be positive. According to the report, the two companies surveyed 285 private attorneys and 45 in-house counsel, for a total of 330 attorneys. In addition to the aforementioned results, the survey also found that 70% of respondents believe litigation funding to be a key disruptor in the legal space. And only 27% of those who had used funding in the past have lingering ethical concerns (primarily around privilege and confidentiality). While just 15% of respondents said they had used litigation funding in the past (which helps yield that awfully-high 98% figure), a full 50% claimed they are open to using funding in the future. The main reason? The high cost of litigation (no surprise there). The report comes on the heels of a recent Burford Capital study which found similar results pertaining to CFOs and Financial Executives at major corporations. Apparently, market adoption of litigation funding remains slow, yet there are still plenty of growth prospects given the results of the dual surveys. Surveys such as these may help allay the concerns of those who decry market saturation and excessive competition from an influx of capital into the space. Clearly - at least as far as the respondents to these surveys go - there's plenty of opportunity for that capital to be put to work.
Announcements Commercial

Launch of ArbiLex Brings AI and Predictive Analytics to International Arbitration

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ArbiLex today announced the launch of its Arbitrator Analytics Platform, which is transforming the practice of international arbitration by ranking arbitrators through a proprietary reasoning system to enhance decision-making by law firms and litigation funds. ArbiLex has successfully tested the efficacy of its algorithms with leading global law firms and litigation funds seeking a competitive edge in multi-billion-dollar cases around the world. International arbitration is one of the fastest-growing practice areas for global law firms and litigation funds. Last year, Singapore and Hong Kong became the latest jurisdictions to liberalize the entry of litigation finance into international arbitration, broadening beyond traditional venues such as the United States, where the litigation finance market size is estimated to be between $50 billion to $100 billion. "In the era of global litigation finance, international arbitration cases are emerging as a multi-trillion-dollar asset class. Under this new paradigm, the status quo of relying solely on anecdotal evidence and qualitative memos is insufficient. When the stakes are all-or-nothing, there needs to be a more quantitative, coherent and explainable framework in assessing deal risk," said ArbiLex Founder and CEO Isabel Yang, a statistician, economist and graduate of Harvard Law School with experience in law and policy across four continents. "ArbiLex's analytics solution leverages expert knowledge and probabilistic modeling to inform high-value strategic decisions, starting with the selection of arbitral tribunals, which is arguably the highest-value decision in any arbitration case," Yang added. Yang first tested the concept of ArbiLex in the Harvard Innovation Labs before forming the team earlier this year. Since then, the company has attracted world-class engineers, AI and machine learning scientists, and designers from organizations including Google, MIT, Harvard University, and IDEO. Law firms and litigation funds consider the application of ArbiLex to international arbitration as a potential game-changer. Yas Banifatemi, Partner and Co-Head of the International Arbitration practice at the law firm Shearman & Sterling, said: "Artificial intelligence is growing fast as a disruptive technology in the practice of international arbitration. ArbiLex represents a key initiative and has the ambition – and means – to become a leading resource in the field." Tom Glasgow, Chief Investment Officer for Asia at global litigation fund IMF Bentham, said: "ArbiLex brings data-driven intelligence to difficult and critical decisions like tribunal selection, providing an important objective overlay to the legal team's analysis. This will likely become a highly sought-after risk management tool for funders and commercial parties alike." Benjamin Roe, Lead Knowledge Lawyer for Global Disputes at the law firm Baker McKenzie, said of ArbiLex: "The kind of analysis provided by ArbiLex has the potential to transform arbitration." Mark Beckett, International Arbitration Partner at the law firm Cooley LLP, and an adviser to ArbiLex, added: "ArbiLex's use of AI will help counsel and clients test their positions, adopt the best strategy and provide important feedback on when it makes sense to fight and when it makes sense to settle. The array of tools significantly enhances the ability of counsel to help claimholders use the process intelligently and achieve better outcomes." SOURCE ArbiLex
Announcements Commercial

Editec Global HR Head joins Augusta

London, 5th August 2019, Augusta, the UK’s largest litigation and dispute funding institution by case volume - today announces the appointment ofAnna Malek as Head of HR, based in London. Anna joins from software and services group Editec where, as Global Head of HR, she managed the full range of people related functions.

Anna’s recruitment is the latest addition to Augusta’s management team following the recent arrivals of Proskauer’s Director of Professional Resources Polly Bahl as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and FTI Consulting Managing Director Leor Franks as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). These hirings reflect Augusta’s growth and investment in professional functions to support the increasing demand for dispute and litigation funding. Commenting on the appointment, Louis Young, Managing Director at Augusta, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Anna to Augusta. With her broad experience of human resources strategy and tactics, Anna will play a key role around our most important asset, our people, who are critical to this important phase of our growth”. Anna Malek commented: “I’m excited to become part of the continued expansion of Augusta’s operations, given the potential for the business to grow in the UK and internationally. I’m looking forward to working with Augusta's capable management team and to support the development of a leading player in litigation and dispute funding”.

About Augusta Ventures: - Established in 2013, Augusta is the largest litigation and dispute funding institution in the UK by # cases with a team of 70 in London and 85 worldwide. Augusta’s scale enables us to make decisions in market-leading timeframes and fund cases of any size. - Augusta is organised into specialist practice groups: Arbitration, Class Action, Competition, Consumer, Intellectual Property and Litigation, and sectors: Financial Services and Construction & Energy. - By the end of H12019, Augusta had funded 213 claims with a market-leading win ratio of over 80%. - Augusta recently announced £25m funding deals with international law firm Pinsent Masons and leading litigation law firm HFW.

Commercial

Ethical Considerations of Litigation Finance Under Scrutiny

As litigation funding gains mainstream acceptance, there have been more and more headline-making allegations which are casting a shadow over the industry. Despite the funding community's best efforts to assuage such ethical concerns, they persist and continue to plague the nascent market. As reported in Forbes, litigation funding fills a genuine gap in the market - not only for claimants who must face the prospect of excessive legal costs if they are to attain access to justice, but also for law firms who accept additional risk in order to meet client demand and offer contingency-fee arrangements (as opposed to the traditional billable hour model). Litigation funding reduces risk for both the claimant and the law firm, and does so without the onerous terms of a traditional loan. Consider that commercial banks offer loans at 5-7% interest, collateralized by an attorney's personal assets. Middle-market lender can charge upwards of 10-13%, and hard-money lenders 18-24%.  That is some costly recourse financing. Litigation funding offers non-recourse financing, which is much more attractive to risk-averse attorneys and claimants. That said, the ethical considerations of whether funders are indeed leveraging their stake in the claim to influence case strategy, as well as issues of privileged communication and even champerty and maintenance are continuously espoused by industry opponents. On the one hand, financing makes attorneys and claimants more independent (they are not beholden to financial concerns when pursuing their case). On the other, they may in fact be beholden to those who control the purse strings (the litigation funders). Critics of the industry contend that while litigation funding offers liquidity to claimants and attorneys, it can also be subjected to abuse, and therefore requires oversight. It is worth considering whether a clarified set of regulations around third party funding would actually benefit the industry, if only to assuage such ethical concerns.
Announcements Consumer

Lawsuit Loans Market Growing Demand Rapidly 2019 With Major Players Oasis Legal Finance, Fair Rate Funding, High Rise Financial, LawCash, Mayfield Settlement Funding, Nova Legal Funding

Lawsuit Loans Market Industry Research Report focuses Market Size, Share, Growth, Manufacturers and Forecast to 2026. This Market Research Report primarily based upon factors on which the companies complete in the market and this factor which is useful and valuable to the business. This report has published stating that the Global Lawsuit Loans Market is anticipated to expand significantly at Million US$ in 2019 and is projected to reach Million US$ by 2026, at a CAGR of during the forecast period. Sample Report with Latest Industry Trends @: https://www.qyreports.com/request-sample/?report-id=221027 Lawsuit Loans helps the enterprises to monitor and maintain the overall functioning of the building infrastructure with quick response to any system failure. Globally, enterprises are continuously focusing on a sustainable model for facilities to reduce the carbon footprint of their organization. Top Key Companies Players Analyzed in this Report are: Peachtree Financial Solutions, DRB Capital, J.G. Wentworth Structured Settlements, Oasis Legal Finance, Fair Rate Funding, High Rise Financial, LawCash, Mayfield Settlement Funding, Nova Legal Funding, Pravati Capital Lawsuit Loans Market: Reports Intellect represents the detail analysis of the parent market based on elite players, present, past and futuristic data which will offer as a profitable guide for all Lawsuit Loans Market competitors. The overall analysis Advanced Lawsuit Loans Market covers an overview of the industry policies that Lawsuit Loans Market significantly, the cost structure of products available the in the market, and their manufacturing chain. The scope of the Lawsuit Loans Market report is as follows the report provides information on growth segments and opportunities for investment and Benchmark performance against key competitors. Geographically, the global mobile application market has been segmented into four regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the rest of the world. Get Reasonable Discount on this Premium Report @: https://www.qyreports.com/ask-for-discount?report-id=221027 Finally, all aspects of the Global Lawsuit Loans Market are quantitatively as well qualitatively assessed to study the Global as well as regional market comparatively. This market study presents critical information and factual data about the market providing an overall statistical study of this market on the basis of market drivers, limitations and its future prospects. The report supplies the international economic competition with the assistance of Porter’s Five Forces Analysis and SWOT Analysis. Following are the List of Chapter Covers in the Lawsuit Loans Market:
  1. Lawsuit Loans Market Overview
  2. Global Economic Impact on Industry
  3. Global Market Competition by Manufacturers
  4. Global Market Analysis by Application
  5. Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders
  6. Market Effect Factors Analysis
  7. Global Lawsuit Loans Market Forecast
About Us We at, QYReports, a leading market research report published accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in today’s competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers includes prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME’s and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into the analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output. Contact: QYReports Jones John +(1) 786-292-8164 204, Professional Center, 7950 NW 53rd Street, Miami, Florida 33166 sales@qyreports.com http://www.qyreports.com
Commercial Consumer

Global Lawsuit Loans Market Report 2019

Global Lawsuit Loans Market Report 2019 is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions of the Lawsuit Loans industry, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia) and the main countries (United States, Germany, Japan and China). The report firstly introduced the Lawsuit Loans market basics: definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain overview; industry policies and plans; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, capacity utilization, supply, demand and industry growth rate etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis. Get sample copy of this report@  https://bit.ly/2LSDBVP Some of the key players operating in this market include: Peachtree Financial Solutions,DRB Capital,J.G. Wentworth Structured Settlements,Oasis Legal Finance,Fair Rate Funding,High Rise Financial,LawCash,Mayfield Settlement Funding,Nova Legal Funding,Pravati Capital The report includes six parts, dealing with: 1) Basic information 2) The Asia Lawsuit Loans market. 3) The North American Lawsuit Loans industry. 4) The European Lawsuit Loans industry. 5) Market entry and investment feasibility. 6) The report conclusion. Reasons for Buying this Report This report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics It provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growth It provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to grow It helps in understanding the key product segments and their future It provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitors It helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segments TABLE OF CONTENT: 1 Industry Overview of Lawsuit Loans Market 2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Lawsuit Loans Market 3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Lawsuit Loans Market 4 Global Lawsuit Loans Market Overview 5 Lawsuit Loans Market Regional Market Analysis 6 Global (2015-2019) Lawsuit Loans Market Segment Market Analysis (by Type) 7 Global (2015-2019) Lawsuit Loans Market Segment Market Analysis (by Application) 8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Lawsuit Loans Market 9 Development Trend of Analysis of Lawsuit Loans Market 10 Lawsuit Loans Marketing Type Analysis 11 Consumers Analysis of Lawsuit Loans Market 12 Conclusion of the Global Lawsuit Loans Market Professional Survey Report 2019 Get Complete Report@ https://bit.ly/2LSDBVP Contact Us: Sanjay Jain Manager - Partner Relations & International Marketing www.reportsandmarkets.com info@reportsandmarkets.com Ph: +44-020-3286-9338 (UK) Ph: +1-214-736-7666 (US) About Us: Market research is the new buzzword in the market, which helps in understanding the market potential of any product in the market. Reports And Markets is not just another company in this domain but is a part of a veteran group called Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. It offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for a wide range of sectors both for the government and private agencies all across the world. This release was published on openPR.
Commercial

How AI Can Help Litigation Funders Predict Legal Bills

Legal Tech is slowly-but-surely permeating all aspects of the Legal Services industry. And one fast-moving sector of Legal Tech is billing software, which seeks to scrape data on legal costs to better predict how much lawyers will end up charging on a given claim. As reported in LexBlog, Legal Tech firms can now aggregate billing data to develop more accurate budgets and track how lawyers perform against those budgets. Law firm-specific, or even lawyer-specific benchmarks can then be established, which can help funders and claimants assess which attorneys are most efficient with their time (and therefore cost less, for the same amount of work produced). Available software can also identify billing irregularities and guideline violations. Consilio's Sky Analytics is an AI-software that benchmarks lawyers using data from numerous companies and law firms. CounselLink's Insights is another analytical assessment tool, which maintains a database of 7 million invoices across 1.7 million legal matters that it uses to benchmark cost and efficiency. Though these tools are becoming more and more sophisticated, experts agree that humans are still needed to analyze and act upon the results provided. The software delivers natural benefits to both funders and claimants, who can better predict their legal spend as a result. Yet many experts also predict that law firms will begin using these tools to improve their own efficiencies, without waiting for funders or corporate clients to make such demands of them. Already, platforms like Headnote exist which help law firms better assess their realization rates and determine the causes of reduced rates. All told, AI will raise back the curtain of law firm billing, which remains an opaque cost center for claimants. Transparency is the new name of the game, and that bodes well for those footing the bills, including litigation funders.