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The Association of Litigation Funders of England and Wales appoints Susan Dunn as Chair

October 2, 2019

The Association of Litigation Funders of England and Wales appoints Susan Dunn as Chair

London 2 October 2019: The Association of Litigation Funders of England & Wales (“the ALF”) today announced the appointment of Susan Dunn as Chair at the ALF’s Annual General Meeting. Susan Dunn currently serves as a Director of the ALF and succeeds Leslie Perrin, following his expression of a desire to stand down this year after serving as Chair for almost 8 years. Susan Dunn is one of the co-founders of Harbour Litigation Funding, one of the industry’s leading litigation funders.  Susan qualified as a solicitor in 1992 and has worked as a commercial litigator in both the United Kingdom and the United States where she was also a diplomat (Vice-Consul Investment) for the British Government.  Susan was central to the completion in 2011 of the Code of Conduct in England and Wales for Litigation Funders and the formation of the ALF in 2011. Leslie Perrin said: “Susan is one of the pioneers of the litigation funding industry and she has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of how litigation funding can promote access to justice and facilitate the resolution of disputes. Under Susan’s leadership, the ALF will continue to be regarded as embodying the best practice gold standard of the litigation funding industry.” Susan Dunn, Chair of ALF said: “It is an honour to take over the Chair of the ALF from Leslie, who took on the leadership of the ALF when it was formed in November 2011.  His work has ensured that our members adhere to the highest standards at a time of growth in litigation funding. I look forward to continuing to work with Leslie and all of my other colleagues in the industry, as well as the Government and regulators, and to ensure excellence in the provision of litigation and arbitration funding as the industry continues to grow and develop.” The Association of Litigation Funders is an independent body that has been charged by the Ministry of Justice with delivering self-regulation of litigation funding in England and Wales.  Litigation funding is the provision by a third party of finance to a party to litigation or arbitration, which is used to pay for the legal costs of the dispute, in exchange for the funder taking a share of the proceeds in the event of a successful outcome. Media enquiries Desiree Maghoo Questor Consulting T: +44 (0)7775 522740 dmaghoo@questorconsulting.com About the Association of Litigation Funders The Association of Litigation Funders (the ALF) is an independent body that has been charged by the Ministry of Justice with delivering self-regulation of litigation funding in England and Wales. Litigation funding is the provision by a third party of non-recourse finance to a party to litigation or arbitration, which is used to pay for the legal costs of the dispute, in exchange for the funder taking a share of the proceeds in the event of a successful outcome. The litigation funding industry has established and paid for its own regulation and defined best practice, helping to protect claimants who seek the rational management of financial risk in litigation and arbitration. By working with a Funder Member of the ALF, parties accessing litigation funding are assured that they will find an organisation that strives to meet the high-quality standards that should define this industry. The ALF Code of Conduct sets out the standards by which all Funder Members of the ALF must abide. It sets the standards for the capital adequacy of funders, sets out the specific, limited circumstances in which funders may be permitted to withdraw from a case, and outlines the way in which the roles of funders, litigants and their lawyers should be kept separate. The ALF also maintains robust and efficient complaints handling procedures. The ALF actively engages with government, legislators, regulators and other policy makers to shape the regulatory environment for litigation funding in England and Wales. ALF board members include Susan Dunn, Neil Purslow, Christopher Bogart, Jonathan Barnes who was re-elected at the AGM and Rob Rothkopf, Managing Partner of Balance Legal Capital LLP, who joins the board for the first time. Funder members of the ALF include Augusta Ventures Ltd, Balance Legal Capital LLP, Burford Capital, Calunius Capital LLP, Harbour Litigation Funding Ltd, IMF Bentham, Innsworth Advisors Ltd, Redress Solutions PLC, Therium Capital Management Ltd, Vannin Capital PCC and Woodsford Litigation Funding Ltd. For more information please visit: https://associationoflitigationfunders.com/

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Announcements Commercial

Court of Appeal Shuts Down BHP’s Attempt to Overturn Mariana Liability Judgment

By John Freund |

The Court of Appeal of England and Wales today refused BHP’s application for permission to appeal the High Court’s landmark liability judgment in the Mariana disaster litigation.

The High Court found BHP responsible for the 2015 collapse of the Fundão tailings dam in Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil, concluding that BHP is liable for the disaster under both the Brazilian Civil and Environmental law.

The Court of Appeal heard BHP’s application for permission to appeal the decision on 12 March after BHP was refused permission to appeal by the High Court in January.  BHP asked the court for permission to contest the findings that it was a polluter, and that it had knowledge of the risks associated with the dam before the collapse. The mining company also challenged the finding that all claimants brought their claims in time.

The Court of Appeal’s refusal marks a further victory for the hundreds of thousands of Brazilian victims who have spent over ten years pursuing justice, and a major setback for BHP. The High Court’s liability judgment remains in force, and BHP has exhausted the ordinary routes by which it could seek to overturn it.

In today’s ruling, the court concluded that BHP’s proposed grounds of appeal have no real prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason for the appeal to be heard.  The decision means that the parties will proceed to the trial of Stage 2 of the proceedings, which will determine issues of causation, loss and damages. The trial evidence is to be heard from April 2027 to December 2027, with closing submissions listed for March 2028.

Lord Justice Fraser wrote in the decision: “I do not accept that any of the grounds relating to BHP’s liability for the dam collapse are reasonably arguable. I do not consider that there is any foundation for the different complaints that the trial judge failed to engage with BHP’s case."

Jonathan Wheeler, lead partner for the Mariana litigation at Pogust Goodhead, said: “The Court of Appeal has now joined the High Court in finding that BHP’s grounds of appeal have no real prospect of success - an emphatic and unambiguous outcome. BHP remains liable for the worst environmental disaster in Brazil’s history, and it will not be given another bite at the cherry.”

“Our clients have waited more than a decade for justice while BHP pursued every procedural avenue to avoid accountability; those avenues are now closed. We are focused on securing the compensation that hundreds of thousands of Brazilians have been owed for far too long.”

Announcements Commercial

Loopa Finance Wins at the Lexology European Awards 2026 in the Litigation / General Counsel Category

By John Freund |

Loopa Finance has been recognized as the winner in the Litigation – General Counsel Team category at the Lexology European Awards 2026, one of the leading recognitions in the international legal sector.

The award was received in London by Ignacio Delgado, General Counsel Europe at the firm, on behalf of Loopa Finance’s European team, composed of Ignacio Delgado (General Counsel Europe), Marina Gouveia (Investment Manager), Fernando Pérez Lozada (Senior Investment Manager), and Fernando Folgueiro (Managing Partner).

The Lexology European Awards recognize outstanding legal teams across the region through a methodology that combines independent research, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and thousands of nominations supported by clients and industry peers, as well as the annual research conducted by the Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal) and Client Choice.

The selection process is based on performance evaluations related to effective communication, commercial understanding, technical expertise, strategic management, and team strength, and is supported by a global community of more than 940,000 subscribers.

This recognition positions Loopa Finance’s European team among the leading practitioners in complex litigation and strategic legal management in Europe.

“This award reflects the strength of a team operating across two continents that understands litigation not only from a legal perspective, but also through financial analysis and risk management. It is the result of collective work and a rigorous, strategic approach to structuring complex disputes,” said Delgado during the ceremony.

More Than an Award: Validation of a Model

The award comes at a time of consolidation for the firm. Loopa Finance recently completed its rebranding process, evolving from Qanlex to Loopa Finance and reinforcing an identity aligned with its growth in continental Europe and its broader international positioning.

It also coincides with the closing of Fund III, raising €65 million to finance complex litigation and arbitration across Europe and Latin America, significantly expanding the firm’s investment capacity and supporting the continued growth of its platform in the region.

This milestone adds to the firm’s recent rankings, including its Band 1 classification by Chambers & Partners in Latin America and Europe, its recognition as “Highly Recommended” by Leaders League across multiple jurisdictions, and the inclusion of members of its team among the Thought Leaders in Third-Party Funding by the Lexology Index. Together, these results confirm the strength of Loopa Finance’s model and the consolidation of its team as a reference in the strategic financing of disputes at an international level.

About Loopa Finance

Loopa Finance is an investment fund specializing in the financing and monetization of litigation and arbitration across continental Europe and Latin America, supported by a technology-driven model and rigorous risk analysis. The firm provides capital to cover legal costs or monetize ongoing claims through non-recourse structures, where the recovery of the investment depends exclusively on the successful outcome of the case, assuming the financial risk of the dispute while fully aligning its interests with those of clients and law firms.

Announcements Commercial

Pravati Capital Partners with SEI to Bring Litigation Finance to Registered Investment Advisors

By John Freund |

One of the oldest litigation finance firms in the United States has announced a strategic partnership aimed at expanding mainstream investor access to the asset class.

As reported by Business Wire via Yahoo Finance, Scottsdale-based Pravati Capital has partnered with financial services firm SEI to provide registered investment advisors with structured access to litigation finance as an alternative investment option. The collaboration will leverage SEI's distribution platform to make litigation funding opportunities available within advisor portfolios.

The partnership reflects growing institutional interest in litigation finance as an alternative asset class. Historically, litigation funding has been difficult for mainstream financial advisors to access on behalf of their clients, with the market largely dominated by specialized funds and institutional investors. The Pravati-SEI arrangement seeks to bridge that gap by creating a more accessible pathway for advisors seeking diversification through non-correlated investments.

The announcement underscores a broader industry shift as litigation finance continues to move from a niche strategy toward greater acceptance within traditional wealth management channels. As the global litigation funding market grows — projected to reach over $25 billion in 2026 — partnerships like this one may signal a new phase of institutional adoption.