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Announcements Commercial

UK Legal Industry Growth Slows As Covid-19 Impacts

The UK Legal Industry generated revenues of £9.34bn in the first calendar quarter of 2020, down 6.6% on the final quarter of 2019. And while there are usually falls between Q4 and Q1 due to seasonal factors, the drop this quarter was the highest in four years, a full one percentage point greater than the drop in the same period in the prior year. The final weeks of March cover the period when Covid-19 was beginning to impact the economy. To put this in context, overall Q1 2020 UK Services Industries turnover was £53.49bn, down 7.6%. Both Legal and Services had however reached record highs in Q4 2019. Legal Industry Woes  Augusta recently published analysis of 40 of the UK’s leading law firms which shows that before the crisis hit, 55% had insufficient cash on their balance sheets to cover one month’s bills and 38% could not even fund one months’ staff salary’s from reserves. Louis Young, Managing Director at leading litigation funder Augusta commented on the ONS data: “The Legal Industry in the UK had already started to see growth fall off before the pandemic hit. UK law firms have seen significant revenue falls since lockdown began, Q2 will unfortunately be well below past quarters. Many firms are seeking support for their businesses - the provision of finance from external sources will be incredibly important to their survival as time progresses.” Andrew O’Connor, Investment Manager at Augusta and author of the law firm research said: “Before the crisis, Law firm’s lean approaches to cash management were hailed as improving operating efficiency. However this has also left balance sheets undercapitalised to deal with the prolonged financial shock that is currently unfolding”. Louis Young and Andrew O’Connor are available for interview as required. About The Augusta Research:
  • In May 2020, Augusta published research based on analysis of the top 40 UK LLPs published accounts.
  • Data on financial health and stability was analysed to identify potential issues.
  • The full research report is available on request.
About The ONS Data:
  • Office of National Statistics publishes regular data on the UK services industry – the Monthly Business Survey
  • The chart below shows UK turnover for Legal Services (JQ3O) by quarter since 2015. About Augusta Ventures:- Established in 2013, Augusta is the largest litigation and dispute funding institution in the UK by # cases. 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 2019, Augusta had funded 227 claims.   Contact: Leor Franks, Chief Marketing Officer, leor.franks@augustaventures.com, +44 20 3510 2100, www.augustaventures.com
Consumer Covid-19

Surge in Consumer Legal Funding Interest Reveals Economic Realities in Wake of COVID-19

As the whole world struggles with COVID-19, existing economic disparities are heightened, and impossible to ignore. The pandemic has created an environment in which those already living paycheck to paycheck must now grapple with employers, insurers, and others who have let them down during this crisis. JD Supra reports that litigation funders are well-placed to pick and choose which cases they’ll invest in, as we experience massive spikes in litigation. Meanwhile, individuals who have lost their source of income or are being denied a much-needed insurance payout may find themselves at a loss and unable to obtain even a small bank loan to cover expenses. This is where Consumer Legal Funders can be of the most help.   In March of this year, Utah Governor Gary Herbert enacted the Maintenance Funding Practices Act, which regulates the industry. Echoing protection laws in Vermont, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and others, this new law requires funding entities to register with Consumer Protection agencies. It also details specific disclosures, requires non-recourse transactions, allows clients to vacate agreements within five days, and prohibits funders from making major decisions about the cases they fund. Unlike other states though, ‘The Act’ doesn’t limit fees that funders can charge. The Alliance for Responsible Consumer Legal Funding (ARC) issued a statement in favor of the new law, saying it will encourage transparency and weed out funders with bad intentions. The industry supports not capping fees, as harsh limits on funding fees have placed such a stranglehold on the industry, that consumer funders are no longer operating in those states that implemented fee caps.  In the end, the new law should provide clarity of expectation on the client, legal, and funding side of the litigation - and it does so without being too onerous for the industry to operate. As we soldier through a pandemic and subsequent recession, consumers will need access to all of the financing options available to them. Thanks to the new Maintenance Act, consumers will still have the option of obtaining funding as they await their case settlement. 
Litigation Finance News
Announcements Consumer

Baker Street Funding Doubles-Down on Funding Efforts into Settled Cases to Help Create Immediate Liquidity for Attorneys and Their Clients Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4678997#ixzz6MHRUD7vR

Baker Street Funding, LLC (Baker Street), a legal funding company located in New York and South Florida, is committing to increasing their litigation funding efforts on settled cases. This type of legal funding provides contingency fee based attorney and their clients with immediate liquidity to help bridge the gap between settlement and payment distribution.

Daniel DiGiaimo, CEO of Baker Street, said, “It is important during these trying times to help our clients get the money they need as quickly as possible. This is why we are not only committed to funding settled case applications the same day that they apply, but to increase our focus and funding efforts on these claims to help plaintiffs and attorneys get immediate liquidity. We have seen settlements delayed all across the country due to the disruption of the court system and we are committed to help both plaintiffs and attorneys find a solution.”

Baker Street is one of the largest funders in the legal finance industry, which consists of companies that provide plaintiffs and their attorneys access to capital throughout the different procedural stages of litigation. Some companies specialize in pre-settlement funding or case-cost financing but Baker Street is one of the only companies that provides a vast array of services to their clients including pre and post-settlement funding, case cost funding and institutional case funding.

Because of Baker Streets access to multiple streams of capital, they can provide funding from as little as $5,000 all the way up to $50mm+, to the applicant, in some cases as quickly as the same day.

To apply for funding, please visit their application page at www.bakerstreetfunding.com/application or call 888-711-3599. Questions can also be emailed to info@bakerstreetfunding.com.

URL: www.bakerstreetfunding.com

Media Contact Company Name: Baker Street Funding Contact Person: Daniel DiGiaimo Email: Send Email Phone: 888-711-3599 Country: United States Website: https://bakerstreetfunding.com/ Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4678997#ixzz6MHRWKR1b
Announcements Consumer

Legal-Bay Announces Increase in Commercial Litigation Requests Due to Covid-19

CALDWELL, N.J., May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Legal-Bay LLC, the Lawsuit Settlement Funding Company, announced that they have launched a new legal funding division for commercial litigation, lawsuit loans or advances, and attorney loans for law firms. Commercial litigation cases can be extremely complex and require expansive resources for both plaintiffs and law firms to fight properly. Legal-Bay sees this as an under-served market and has built a new division to accommodate the needs of this market. Commercial litigation loans were created to assist plaintiffs level the playing field against deeper-pocket defendants who can simply outspend them. Legal-Bay's experience gives hope to plaintiffs seeking lawsuit settlement loans and ease the process of obtaining legal funding. Chris Janish, CEO of Legal-Bay, commented, "We're seeing an immediate increase in large commercial litigation requests in our new division. Many of our new clients are individuals who normally wouldn't need capital from their suit. However, in this unprecedented time of work layoffs and business closures, funding is at an all-time high.  We have recently raised additional capital and hired new sales representatives to handle our influx." If you're looking for pre-settlement cash from your commercial litigation lawsuit, large lawsuit loan for general working capital, or to inquire about specific case costs, please apply now at: http://lawsuitssettlementfunding.com Legal-Bay has always been a leader in the commercial litigation arena, and have been expanding their traditional personal injury and mass tort litigation to the much larger commercial litigation market involving complex cases that need hefty funding amounts. Typically, these cases have minimum requests of anywhere from $100K to $20MM and take more time to evaluate. Their network of experienced underwriters and investment bankers have over twenty years' worth of experience to handle your commercial litigation funding needs. Legal-Bay offers case funding for all types of commercial lawsuits, including appellate funding and financing, judgement on appeal loans, verdict loans, verdict financing, whistleblower funding, Qui-tam loans, patent infringement funding, copyright infringement loans, law firm loans, case expenses, law firm lines of credit, and more. To learn more, please visit: http://lawsuitssettlementfunding.com or call: 877.571.0405 where agents are standing by to hear about your specific case.   Contact: 60 Roseland Ave., Suite 101, Caldwell, NJ 07006
Email: Info@Legal-Bay.com
Phone: (973) 857-1000
https://goo.gl/maps/epBeCtMoevG1vreC9 SOURCE Legal-Bay
Announcements Commercial

Financial Poise™ Announces “Commercial Litigation Funding-101” a New Webinar Series Premiering May 12th at 1:00 PM CST through West LegalEdcenter™

The first episode in this series is titled "An Introduction to a New Yet Old Funding Alternative" and is co-produced by West LegalEdCenter™. It will feature Jeremy Waitzman (Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger LLP); Dave Kerstein (Validity Finance LLC); Christopher Freeman (Burford Capital); Joel Cohen (Stout); and Jeffery Lula (GLS Capital, LLC).

About the Series: Once a fledgling industry predominantly used in the Commonwealth nations, litigation funding has over the past ten years becomes a well-accepted and prevalent practice in the United States. As the industry has evolved, so too have the menu of available products, strategic decisions made by funders and practitioners, and types of investors. This three-part series is geared towards educating attorneys and clients on legal/ethical, strategic, and business decisions when considering litigation funding, and investors seeking to learn about an increasingly mainstream asset class. Panelists include preeminent experts in the field of litigation funding, including academics who have written on the topic, investment managers at preeminent litigation funders, litigators who have used funding products, and independent litigation funding advisors.

About the Episode: Litigation funding is an increasingly-popular tool for attorneys and clients to share the risk and reward of litigation with third-party investors, and for investors to capitalize on the uncorrelated returns generated by legal-driven revenue. This webinar is intended to provide an overview of the topic generally, touching on the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why” and “how’s” behind litigation funding.

To learn more and register, click here.

The webinar will be available on-demand after its premiere. As with every Financial Poise Webinar, it will be an engaging and plain English conversation designed to entertain as it teaches.

About Financial Poise –

Financial Poise has one mission: to provide reliable plain English business, financial and legal education to investors, private business owners and executives, and their respective trusted advisors. Financial Poise content is created by seasoned, respected experts who are invited to join our Faculty only after being recommended by current Faculty Members. Our editorial staff then works to make sure all content is easily digestible. Financial Poise is a meritocracy; nobody can “buy” their way into the Financial Poise Faculty. Start learning today at https://www.financialpoise.com/

Commercial

Vocus Settlement Raises Questions On Future of Lit Fin in Australia

A recent settlement involving Sydney telecom giant Vocus is raising questions about third-party funding arrangements. The debate between common fund orders (CFOs) versus funding equalization orders (FEOs) reached its apex, when Justice Moshinsky’s ruling resulted in a lower payout to litigation funder Woodsford. Global Legal Post reports that Vocus had been accused of making intentionally misleading statements regarding its potential profits. The claim was settled for $23MM.   The problem? A common fund order was sought in the case, which would have extended the contractual funding agreement to all members of the class action—including those who did not sign on to the funding agreement. CFOs are popular, especially since a 2016 case involving Money Max v QBE. In this instance, however, an FEO was ordered instead. This ultimately means that the funder will receive a lower payout than they would have realized, had a CFO remained in place. Some assert that this ruling will make litigation funders more reticent to fund class action cases in Australia. Because Woodsford had a reasonable belief that the CFO would be granted, they relied on it when calculating its risks. If it remains unclear which type of funding arrangement will ultimately be imposed, this can impact who gets funding, as well as the specifics of future funding arrangements. Moving forward, it’s unclear whether Australian legal professionals will take steps to mitigate FEOs, in order to make CFOs standard practice in litigation funding cases. Surely, there’s a solution that enables funders to make informed decisions about risks and potential payouts, while not forcing potential claimants into agreements which they never signed up for.
Consumer

Litigation Funder Sues PI Lawyer Despite Boyhood Friendship

The story of boyhood friends who became business partners in adulthood should be a sweet one. But the business relationship between personal injury lawyer Sean Callagy and litigation funder Legal Capital Group—run by George Prussin—has definitely gone sour. Legal Newsline reports that LCG is suing Callagy for over $18MM for loans totaling less than $600,000, which were received in 2013. Some of the loans carried a compounded interest rate of nearly 90% per year. Another carried a lower interest rate in exchange for a percentage of payouts in the event of a win. Prussin lent funds to Callagy under multiple business entity names. The funds were intended to help Callagy pursue litigation, including a long and complicated case involving a 2006 plane crash in Russia. Callagy also represented Prussin in multiple cases involving litigation funding, including accusations of fraud. The Law Funder, one name Prussin used while making loans, is listed as the funder for Wilfredo Garcia. He’s perhaps best known for starting a law firm without a law degree. After the crash of Siberia Airlines Flight 778, Garcia amassed 50+ clients for a class action, which he then traded to other lawyers in exchange for a large cut of the contingency arrangement. By the time the case settled, the Prussin-funded suit’s payout was set upon by creditors, Garcia’s ex-wife, and the IRS. Callagy’s firm has offices in Texas, New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere. Promising to ‘change the way people feel about lawyers.’ Meanwhile, LCG was counting on large payouts in several of Callagy’s cases, which did not materialize. The case between Callagy and Prussin is scheduled for a jury trial later this year.
Commercial

Canadian Supreme Court Gives Okay to Litigation Finance

This week, the Supreme Court of Canada publicly released the reasoning behind its January decision in a case involving third-party litigation funding. The ruling provides clarity for an earlier act known as CCAA—the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act. The unanimous ruling found that a gaming software company may use third-party funding to pursue a $200MM lawsuit against Callidus Capital Corporation. CBA National reports that in the case against Callidus Capital, they are accused of factual omissions and multiple “faulty actions” with regard to their financial arrangement with Bluberi. As Bluberi moved to secure funding, a judge ruled that Callidus should be shut out, citing that they had acted improperly. Interestingly, the case demonstrates a coming SCOTUS trend of ruling on cases orally and presenting official reasoning later on. Sylvain Rigaud, co-chair of insolvency and restructuring at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada, explains that the ruling is a vital one. Extending the improper purpose statute to CCAA is a boon to the pursuit of justice. When an insolvent entity’s only assertion is a litigation claim, seeking justice and maximum recovery for clients are one and the same. Paul Rand, Canadian CIO of Omni Bridgeway, agrees, saying that companies now have an opportunity to partner with a funder to pursue meritorious litigation. This is especially vital in insolvency situations where litigation is one’s only recourse. Rand goes on to say that the normalization and expansion of third-party funding increases overall efficiency, and brings attention to lit fin as an option for clients who might not otherwise pursue litigation.
Commercial

Burford Client Runs Afoul of Champerty Claim in Russian Oligarch Divorce

The contentious divorce of Putin ally Farkhad Akhmedov and his wife, Tatiana, has produced escalating divorce proceedings for nearly two decades. Lawyers for each party have asserted multiple claims of previous divorces that can’t be corroborated, requests for personal emails between father and son, and now—an accusation of champerty regarding Burford Capital’s funding of Tatiana Akhmedova. Technically, the backing of claims by third-party funders in exchange for profit has been illegal in Russia since feudal times. The Guardian reports that Tatiana was awarded a whopping GBP 453MM in 2016, which is roughly 41% of her husband’s assets. Akhmedov disputes the ruling and claims that he and his ex-wife were already divorced 20 years ago. Documents were presented to this effect but were later determined to be forged. The former Mrs. Akhmedova is also pursuing action against her son for his part in Akhmedov’s refusal to pay the award. Attempts to reap the full award are being backed by Burford Capital. Burford's participation is considered questionable, as Russia has yet to enact laws regarding litigation funding. Lawyers for Akhmedov are demanding to see the details of Akhmedova’s agreement with Burford. They further assert that funding of this type is not permissible in family law cases. Assets include a super yacht, a writing desk once used by Napoleon, art by Hirst and Warhol, and other rare antiquities. Lawyers for the Akhmedovs will reference a recent case in Hong Kong that ruled this type of third-party funding illegal.