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Omni Bridgeway Funds Fresh Paint-Peel Claim Against Toyota Australia

By John Freund |

Omni Bridgeway has stepped in to bankroll a newly-filed Federal Court class action alleging that certain 2010-14 Toyota Corolla models suffer from a manufacturing defect that causes factory “040 white” paint to flake under UV exposure. Lead plaintiff Mary Elizabeth Fabian seeks compensation for diminished vehicle value and associated distress.

An article in Lawyerly says William Roberts Lawyers lodged the claim late Wednesday in Sydney, with Omni providing “no-win-no-pay” financing and an adverse-costs indemnity. The suit covers consumers who bought affected sedans or hatchbacks after 1 January 2011.

Plaintiffs allege Toyota breached Australia’s Consumer Law guarantee of acceptable quality, citing a 2022 Toyota bulletin that acknowledged adhesive degradation between primer and base metal. Class members face no out-of-pocket exposure; Omni recoups costs and takes a court-approved commission only from any recovery. Registration is open nationwide, and Omni’s portal details eligibility tests based on VIN build plates and paint codes.

The case exemplifies funders’ deepening appetite for high-volume consumer-product claims. Success here could spur similar “cosmetic defect” suits—particularly in Australia’s active class-action market—further diversifying funders’ portfolios beyond financial-services and securities disputes.

Burford Capital Faces Fresh Argentine Pushback in YPF Turnover Battle

By John Freund |

Argentina’s legal team has fired its latest salvo in the long-running, Burford-backed YPF litigation, lodging two emergency briefs with U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska that seek to halt her 30 June order compelling the country to transfer its 51 percent stake in the oil major to a BNY Mellon escrow within 14 days.

An article in Infobae reports that the Treasury Solicitor’s Office argues immediate compliance would violate Argentina’s hydrocarbon-sovereignty statute, trigger cross-default clauses, and irreversibly strip state control of a company central to the Vaca Muerta shale programme. The briefs also insist the $16.1 billion judgment—won by Petersen Energía and Eton Park after Burford Capital financed their claims—presents “novel questions” on sovereign immunity and extraterritorial asset execution, meriting a stay pending Second Circuit review.

Burford’s creditors countered earlier this week, citing Governor Axel Kicillof’s public remarks as proof of obstruction. Argentina retorted that Kicillof holds no federal brief, seeking to neutralise that leverage while underscoring the U.S. Justice Department’s past reservations about enforcing foreign-sovereign turnovers. Judge Preska is expected to rule on the stay motion within days; absent relief, the share transfer clock runs out on 15 July.

A stay would underscore enforcement risk, even after a blockbuster merits win. Funders will watch Preska's decision, and capital-providers hunting sovereign-risk cases may calibrate pricing accordingly.

Palisade, Accredited Specialty Secure $35 Million Legal Risk Cover

By John Freund |

Specialty managing general underwriter Palisade Insurance Partners has taken a significant step to scale its fast-growing contingent-legal-risk book, striking a delegated-authority agreement with Accredited Specialty Insurance Company. Including the Accredited capacity, Palisade has up to $35 million in coverage for legal risk insurance products. The New York-headquartered MGU can now offer larger wraps for judgment preservation, adverse-appeal and similar exposures—coverages that corporates, private-equity sponsors and law firms increasingly use to de-risk litigation and unlock financing.

An article in Business Insurance reports that the deal provides Palisade's clients with the comfort of carrier balance-sheet strength while allowing the insurer to expand its program portfolio. The capacity tops up Palisade’s existing relationships and arrives at a time when several traditional markets have retrenched from contingent legal risk after absorbing a spate of outsized verdicts, leaving many complex disputes under-served.

Palisade leadership said demand for robust limits has “never been stronger,” driven by M&A transactions that hinge on successful appeals, fund-level financings that need portfolio hedges, and secondary trading of mature judgments. Writing on LinkedIn, Palisade President John McNally stated: "Accredited's partnership expands Palisade's ability to transfer litigation exposures and help facilitate transactional and financing outcomes for its corporate, law firm, investment manager and M&A clients."

The new facility aligns the MGU’s maximum line with those of higher-profile peers and could see Palisade participate in single-event placements that have historically defaulted to the London market. For Accredited, the move diversifies its program roster and positions the insurer to capture premium in a niche with attractive economics—provided underwriting discipline holds.

Omni Bridgeway Maps Recovery Paths for PRC Creditors

By John Freund |

China’s ballooning stock of non-performing loans (NPLs) has long frustrated mainland banks and asset-management companies eager to claw back value from defaulted borrowers scattered across multiple jurisdictions. In its newly released 2025 Report on International Asset Recovery for PRC Financial Creditors, Omni Bridgeway distills the lessons of a growing body of cross-border enforcement actions and sets out a playbook for creditors determined to follow the money.

A paper published by Omni Bridgeway explains that the three-chapter study surveys today’s enforcement landscape, highlights “funded recovery” strategies for domestic institutions, and walks readers through case studies in which Chinese lenders have traced assets into offshore havens and employed Mareva-style injunctions, arbitral award assignments, and insolvency proceedings to compel payment.

The paper highlights how litigation finance can transform the economics of pursuing stubborn debtors. By underwriting investigative costs, securing local counsel, and bridging timing gaps between enforcement wins and cash realisation, funders such as Omni Bridgeway can turn an otherwise write-off-prone claim into a profitable workout.

The report also charts structural shifts reshaping the market: Beijing’s pressure on state banks to clean balance sheets, private-equity appetite for “special situations” paper, and widening acceptance of third-party funding in arbitration hubs from Hong Kong to Singapore. A series of recent matters—ranging from a Guangzhou lender’s successful freeze of UK real estate to a provincial AMC’s recovery of Latin-American mining assets—illustrate the potency of coordinated tracing, injunctive relief, and securitised claims sales.

For the legal-funding bar, the study underscores a powerful, still-underexploited pipeline: hundreds of billions of renminbi in distressed credit looking for capital-efficient enforcement solutions. Whether PRC banks will embrace external funders at scale—and how regulators will view foreign-backed recovery campaigns—remain pivotal questions for 2025 and beyond.

Omni Bridgeway Hails U.S. Budget Bill Win

By John Freund |

Omni Bridgeway has sidestepped a potentially painful tax after President Trump signed the FY-25 Budget Bill without the much-debated levy on legal-finance proceeds. The Australian-listed funder, which bankrolls commercial claims on six continents, had warned that the original 40.8 percent surcharge floated in the Senate Finance Committee would depress case economics and chill cross-border capital flows. Instead, the final bill landed on 4 July with zero mention of legal-finance taxation, handing the industry a regulatory reprieve just as U.S. portfolio commitments hit record highs.

Sharecafe notes that Omni Bridgeway credits a rare coalition of plaintiff-side bar groups, access-to-justice NGOs, and chambers-of-commerce allies for persuading lawmakers to drop the proposal. The company says it will elaborate in its 4Q25 report later this month, but stresses that bipartisan recognition of funding’s public-interest role now mirrors supportive reviews in Australia, the EU and the UK.

For funders, the episode underscores two diverging trends: rising U.S. political scrutiny and an equally vocal defense of the asset class from sophisticated investors. Expect lobbying budgets to climb as Congress circles disclosure and tax issues again in 2026, but also expect money to keep flowing—Omni’s stance suggests confidence that regulatory headwinds can be managed without derailing growth.

Cleary Gottlieb Highlights Importance of CJC’s ‘Light-Touch’ Statute for Funders

By John Freund |

Britain’s Civil Justice Council has recommended sweeping but flexible regulation to stabilise a litigation-funding market rattled by last year’s PACCAR ruling. In a 58-point report, the CJC calls for legislation clarifying that third-party funding deals are not damages-based agreements, erasing the decision’s retroactive cloud over billions in commitments. It favours statutory oversight—potentially by the FCA after a five-year review—covering capital adequacy, anti-money-laundering checks and early disclosure of funding sources, while rejecting hard caps on funder returns.

Cleary Gottlieb highlights the CJC’s view that funding is “an essential means to secure effective access to justice,” particularly for group claims, but concedes defendants need better cost-recovery tools. Notably, the report proposes court discretion to shift funders’ fees onto losing defendants in “exceptional circumstances,” a nod to fairness without endorsing U.S.-style cost-shifting.

If adopted, the blueprint could make London the first G-7 jurisdiction with bespoke statutory rules for funders—offering clarity that may attract capital flight from the EU post-PACCARR—but it also sets a precedent others may copy. Watch for Westminster to kick off consultations after Parliament’s summer recess; timing will be critical as cross-border class actions surge.

Burford Capital Launches US $400 M Senior Notes Offering

By John Freund |

Burford Capital returned to the bond market Monday with a private placement of 144A/Reg S senior notes due 2033, targeting US $400 million in proceeds.

PR Newswire notes that the funds will retire Burford’s 6.125 % 2025 bonds and, if capacity remains, its 5 % 2026 notes. The ten-year paper will be issued through subsidiary Burford Capital Global Finance LLC and guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by key operating entities. Management framed the deal as a proactive refinancing to extend weighted-average maturity and preserve liquidity for portfolio deployments and enforcement campaigns, including the high-stakes YPF arbitral award.

The launch follows Congress’s decision to drop a proposed 31.8% excise tax on litigation-finance profits—a policy overhang that had muted high-yield issuance earlier this year. Investors will watch pricing closely: spreads tighter than Burford’s existing 2028s would signal renewed confidence in the credit and, by extension, the asset class. If successful, the offering could reopen capital-markets access for midsize funders that paused issuance after 2023’s rate spike. Longer-dated capital supports the industry’s trend toward portfolio and enforcement finance, where returns resemble annuities and appeal to fixed-income allocators seeking diversification.

UK Court Upholds Funders’ LFAs Against Apple, Visa

By John Freund |

A unanimous Court of Appeal has delivered Britain’s litigation-funding industry its most decisive post-PACCAR victory to date, green-lighting the revised financing agreements that underpin multibillion-pound collective actions against Apple, Sony, Visa and Mastercard.

Legal Futures reports that the court rejected arguments claiming a damages cap turns a multiple-based LFA into an illegal damages-based agreement. Writing for the court, Chancellor Sir Julian Flaux held that such caps merely shield class members from excessive returns and do not offend section 58AA of the Courts and Legal Services Act. The judgment restores commercial certainty after the Supreme Court’s 2023 PACCAR decision invalidated percentage-based LFAs and froze dozens of collective actions. Four Competition Appeal Tribunal claims—covering interchange-fee suits and consumer-electronics overcharge allegations—had been stayed pending clarity; they are now expected to restart swiftly.

Practically, the ruling affirms the post-PACCAR template most funders adopted: a defined-multiple return with a protective ceiling expressed as a share of recoveries. Claimant firms may revisit stalled cases once deemed unfundable, while policymakers can pause calls for emergency legislation.

WinJustice: Six Reasons In-House Teams Seek Funding

By John Freund |

Corporate general counsel are increasingly treating litigation finance as a mainstream treasury tool. A new commentary from Abu Dhabi–based funder WinJustice frames third-party capital as a way to convert disputes from cost centres into balance-sheet assets, letting companies pursue high-value claims without raiding R&D budgets or elevating cost-of-capital pressures

An article on LinkedIn sets out six drivers behind that shift. First is financial efficiency: shifting fees and adverse-cost exposure off-balance sheet insulates earnings from litigation volatility. Second, freed-up cash can be redeployed to core business lines, while funder backing materially strengthens settlement leverage. Third-party diligence and industry specialists sharpen strategy, and predictable accounting keeps shareholders and analysts on-side.

Funding also revives meritorious matters that once languished for lack of budget, the piece notes, letting departments engage top-flight counsel, survive discovery battles and finance costly enforcement campaigns. Collectively, these advantages reframe contentious work as a managed investment—an approach that dovetails with the data-driven, ROI-oriented ethos now spreading through corporate legal ops.

WinJustice positions itself as the MENA region’s leading provider of such capital. Operating from the Abu Dhabi Global Market, it offers non-recourse funding for attorney fees, expert witnesses, ADR deposits and post-judgment enforcement, backed by rigorous due diligence that—as the firm puts it—creates “virtuous loops of funding, access to justice and efficient conflict resolution."

Behind the Scenes: How AI is Quietly Transforming the Legal Client Experience

The following was contributed by Richard Culberson, the CEO North America of Moneypenny, the world’s customer conversation experts, specializing in call answering and live chat solutions.

When people think about the legal client experience, they often picture what happens in the courtroom or during a critical client meeting. But increasingly, the most meaningful changes to how law firms, legal service providers and legal funders support their clients are happening out of sight, thanks to the power of artificial intelligence (AI). Whether it’s client intake, communication routing, or managing complex caseloads and funding relationships, AI is reshaping the way legal teams deliver service behind the scenes.

Across America, firms in all industries are turning to AI to enhance their people. The goal is simple: deliver faster, more personalized, and more efficient service. And when done right, the difference is both quiet and powerful.

At Moneypenny, we work with thousands of legal professionals every day, from solo attorneys to large firms and legal funders, helping them manage customer conversations and deliver great client service. We've seen firsthand how AI, when applied with care and purpose, can reshape the client experience from the inside out.

Easy Access to the Right Information

In any busy legal setting, timing is everything. Whether it’s a client call, intake conversation, or case status update, having instant access to accurate information is key. That’s where AI comes in. It can surface the right details in real time so teams can respond quickly and confidently.

Take legal funders, for example, they often need to assess case viability quickly, AI tools can instantly surface key case milestones, funding eligibility criteria, and prior correspondence to accelerate decision-making and reduce friction.

Smarter Call and Message Routing

Any business fields a wide range of calls and messages in a day, and not every inquiry belongs on the same desk. AI can now analyze keywords, tone, and context to route communication to the right person, and it does it automatically.

That means clients reach the right person faster, and your team spends less time untangling misdirected messages. In an industry where responsiveness matters, this kind of behind-the-scenes efficiency is a real win.

Getting Ahead of Client Needs

What’s more, AI doesn’t just react, it can anticipate too. By looking at past interactions and analyzing the data, it can identify patterns and flag issues before they arise.

Let’s say a client regularly asks about timelines or paperwork. AI can flag repetitive requests for status updates from claimant attorneys or co-counsel, prompting automated reporting or scheduled updates to improve transparency and communication between parties. This level of attentiveness not only reduces frustration but also builds trust and reassures clients, something especially valuable in the high-pressure, high-emotion legal industry.

Seamless Experience Across Channels

Today’s clients want to communicate on their own terms, whether that’s by phone, email, live chat, or text. And they expect consistency, no matter the channel. AI can help to make that happen.

By bringing together data from multiple sources, AI ensures that whoever answers the phone or replies to a message (whether that is call one or message five) has the full context. The result is that clients feel heard and known, not like they’re starting over every time, and it is that kind of continuity that can turn a routine exchange into a relationship.

Real-Time Support for Your Team

Think of AI as a digital assistant, offering prompts, surfacing information, and making sure the person handling the call or message has exactly what they need. It is helping people deliver their best work.

At Moneypenny, our AI tools support our legal receptionists during conversations, pulling up relevant details, suggesting next steps, and helping maintain a personalized touch even during peak periods. It’s about helping good people be even better at what they do.

Scaling the Personal Touch

There’s a common misconception that AI makes things feel impersonal or robotic. But when it’s used well, it actually allows businesses to be more personal, and at scale. Imagine being able to greet every client by name, remember their preferences, and respond in a way that feels tailored, even when your team is managing thousands of interactions. That’s what we aim to deliver every day. And AI makes it possible.

For legal funders juggling a portfolio of diverse cases and law firm partners, AI can ensure consistency in tone, terminology, and updates so that funders can maintain an attentive, personalized service level without scaling up staff headcount.

The Big Picture: Human + AI = A Better Experience

Whether you're running a law firm, operating a litigation finance business, or managing client services across the legal ecosystem, one thing is clear: clients want service that’s fast, accurate, relevant and personal. AI helps make that happen, by enhancing the human touch.

The real transformation isn’t just happening in space that the client sees but in the systems behind the scenes that power that experience. For leaders across legal industry and beyond, the takeaway is this: the future of service isn’t just about upgrading the visible. It’s about building smarter, more supportive systems that let your people do what they do best.

That’s where AI delivers its real value and where the real competitive edge lies. 

Litigation Funders Win Tax Reprieve

By John Freund |

Congressional negotiators shocked the legal-funding world by deleting, at the eleventh hour, a punitive tax on litigation-finance proceeds that had sailed through committee only weeks earlier.

An article in Law360 captures the collective sigh of relief: investment managers told the outlet that a 41 percent flat levy “would have erased double-digit IRRs overnight,” freezing new deals and stalling case portfolios mid-stream. Yet relief was tempered by unease. Lobbyists highlighted Biden-era IRS notices that already scrutinize fund structures, warning that future reconciliation cycles could revive similar measures under the banner of closing “loopholes.”

The scuttled clause, championed by Sen. Thom Tillis, aimed squarely at non-recourse funding agreements—lumping them with payday loans despite fundamental differences in risk and consumer exposure. Industry advocacy groups argued the tax would simply throttle access to counsel for under-capitalized plaintiffs, while doing little to curb perceived abuses.

For now, the world’s largest funders are pivoting to opportunity: several managers signaled press outreach emphasizing their role in financing meritorious claims after the Senate’s tacit endorsement. But as White House and Senate drafters restart budget talks this autumn, funders may find themselves again in fiscal cross-hairs—prompting fresh advocacy campaigns around transparency, consumer protection, and economic impact.

Jefferies Lines Up Capital for LA Wildfire Mass Torts

By John Freund |

As Southern California tallies the ruinous cost of this year’s Eaton and Palisades fires, Wall Street’s appetite for mass-tort risk is blazing. Bloomberg reporters tell Carrier Management that investment bank Jefferies Financial Group and rival Oppenheimer are courting plaintiffs’ firms with eight-figure credit lines to bankroll suits against Edison International and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power.

An article in Carrier Management details solicitation emails in which brokers tout double-digit interest returns for lenders willing to absorb the high-stakes cost of expert testimony, aerial burn-mapping, and client acquisition. Litigation finance specialists already active in mass torts are circling as well, drawn to damages estimates topping $10 billion.

The report quotes Wake Forest law professor Samir Parikh, who calls wildfire finance litigation “the next evolution” of an industry that has made headlines backing opioids and talc claims. For funders, California wildfires offer scale, sympathetic plaintiffs and publicly traded utilities with insurance towers. Yet the capital churn also revives criticism from insurers that contend aggressive financing fuels social inflation. Skyward Specialty’s CEO recently vowed to shun counterparties dabbling in TPLF—a stance that could spread if wildfire verdicts balloon.

Whether Jefferies-style syndications become mainstream will hinge on judicial management of mass-tort inventories and on potential legislative moves to mandate financing disclosures in state courts. Either way, the embers of this year’s fires may ignite a new, high-profile proving ground for Wall Street’s legal-asset ambitions.

Bench Walk to Recoup First Cut of Lupaka’s $65M Peru Award

By John Freund |

Canadian miner Lupaka Gold has landed the sort of out-of-the-blue windfall that keeps arbitration funders in business. An ICSID tribunal has ordered the Republic of Peru to pay the TSX-V-listed junior roughly $65 million—the full compensation Lupaka sought over the 2018 shuttering of its Invicta gold project, plus costs and compound interest dating back nearly six years.

A press release in GlobeNewswire states that Lupaka will not be the first to collect the proceeds. Under its non-recourse financing agreement, the initial distributions flow to Bench Walk Advisors, the New York- and London-based funder that bankrolled the treaty claim and fronted more than US $4 million in arbitration costs. Only after Bench Walk is made whole—and receives its agreed return—will the miner’s shareholders see any cash.

The award exemplifies how litigation finance is reshaping investor-state disputes. Bench Walk assumed the risk that Peru might prevail or drag the process out indefinitely; in exchange it now stands to crystalise a sizeable, near-term return once enforcement begins. Lupaka’s management, for its part, concedes that “a few more hoops” remain before Peru’s treasury wires the money, but the tribunal’s merits ruling removes the biggest hurdle.

The case reinforces third-party funding’s strategic utility for smaller resource companies facing sovereign interference—especially in Latin America’s mining belt, where political risk remains acute. Funders will parse the award’s interest mechanics as a template for quantifying damages over protracted timelines. More broadly, the result helps validate Bench Walk’s aggressive expansion into treaty arbitration and may spur peers to chase similar high-beta opportunities, even as governments and the UN-backed ICSID reform process debate tighter disclosure around funding arrangements.

Burford Capital Hails Senate’s U-Turn on Litigation-Finance Tax

By John Freund |

The world’s largest legal-finance player is breathing a sigh of relief after the Senate parliamentarian has ruled that a proposed 31.8% tax on litigation funding profits must be removed from the Republican tax bill.

PR Newswire carries Burford Capital’s 1 July update confirming that the US Senate stripped a 40.8 percent excise tax on litigation-finance gains from its budget reconciliation bill after the Parliamentarian ruled the provision out of order. While the ruling blocks the tax under current reconciliation rules, lawmakers could still revise and reintroduce it. The reprieve removes a looming earnings drag that had spooked investors across the sector and buys funders time to lobby against similar proposals circulating in the House.

Burford used the same release to trumpet a separate courtroom victory: a New York federal judge ordered Argentina to transfer its 51 percent stake in YPF to court-appointed custodians within 14 days, advancing enforcement of the record-setting $16.1 billion Petersen/Eton Park judgment that Burford bankrolls. Management cautions that appeals will follow but called the turnover order “a positive milestone” in the multi-year campaign to monetize the award.

The dual developments highlight how legislative risk and sovereign-collection risk can swing a funder’s valuation overnight. With the tax threat shelved for now, attention will pivot to whether Argentina complies—and how quickly Burford can convert paper judgment into cash. Expect renewed debates on pricing sovereign-enforcement risk and on whether larger funds with cross-border expertise enjoy an unassailable moat in this niche of the asset class.

Argentina Seeks UK Stay on $16 B YPF Judgment Backed by Burford

By John Freund |

Even as a U.S. court ordered the hand-over of YPF shares, Argentina raced to London’s High Court to stall UK recognition of the same multi-billion award.

An article in Reuters recounts how government counsel told the court that enforcing the U.S. judgment before appellate review would cause no prejudice because “there are no assets here” to seize. The Burford-funded plaintiffs countered that Argentina’s bid is a delay tactic and asked for a £2.0 billion security if any pause is granted, noting interest is compounding at US $2.5 million per day.

The duelling venues highlight Burford’s trans-Atlantic enforcement campaign and the growing strategic sophistication of funders in sovereign disputes. London has become the favoured battleground for enforcing U.S. commercial awards against states, thanks to Section 101 of the 2006 Arbitration Act and the city’s deep asset pool.

For funders, the hearing underscores the need to pursue parallel forums to pressure recalcitrant states—especially when holdings (like YPF shares) sit outside the U.S. A reserved security order could significantly raise Argentina’s cost of delay and signal to other sovereign debtors that London courts will not rubber-stamp tactical pauses. The outcome will be closely watched by hedge funds and litigation financiers eyeing distressed-sovereign opportunities.

Burford Keeps Control in Turkey Price-Fixing Antitrust Battle

By John Freund |

A federal magistrate in Chicago has handed Burford Capital a fresh victory in its effort to monetise Sysco-assigned antitrust claims against the U.S. turkey industry.

An article in Reuters reports that Judge Sunil Harjani rejected arguments from Tyson Foods, Perdue, Hormel and Butterball that Burford’s affiliate, Carina Ventures, lacked standing or offended public policy by pursuing the case despite never purchasing a single drumstick. Harjani’s opinion emphasised that Congress—not the courts—must decide whether third-party funding is permissible and found no evidence Carina or Burford had distorted the litigation. He also brushed aside a Sysco-centric fairness attack, noting that sophisticated businesses are free to structure their claims as they see fit.

The order is the latest twist in Burford’s multiyear protein-price saga. After investing US $140 million to bankroll Sysco’s chicken, pork and turkey cartel suits, the funder clashed with its client over settlement strategy, ultimately receiving the claims by assignment. With chicken and pork fights largely resolved, the turkey docket is now a bell-wether for whether funders can step directly into plaintiffs’ shoes when contracts allow.

For litigation financiers, Harjani’s ruling reinforces that properly drafted assignments can survive policy challenges, even in food-price cases that attract political scrutiny. The decision also undercuts insurer-driven narratives that funding itself inflates “social inflation.”

Burford Fights Argentina’s YPF Stay Bid in London

By John Freund |

Minority YPF shareholders Petersen Energia and Eton Park, bankrolled by Burford Capital, are chasing a U.S. $17 billion New York judgment against Argentina into the High Court of England and Wales. Buenos Aires has asked the court to halt enforcement while it appeals in the United States, arguing it holds no attachable UK assets and that creditors will suffer no prejudice.

Reuters details the claimants’ response: if a pause is granted, Argentina should post £2 billion security, roughly 10 percent of the outstanding award, to blunt daily interest accrual of about U.S. $2.5 million. The article underscores funders’ growing role in cross-border sovereign enforcement; Burford’s capital has already fueled a decade-long campaign spanning New York, Madrid and now London.

A London-court showdown would illustrate how litigation finance converts paper victories into real money, even against resistant sovereigns. A security order could tighten Argentina’s negotiating window and validate funders’ appetite for high-duration, multinational enforcement plays. Conversely, a lengthy stay with no bond would spotlight the risk that political defendants can still out-wait private capital—raising questions about how funders price sovereign risk going forward.

Jefferies, Oppenheimer Target LA Wildfire Mass-Tort Funding

By John Freund |

The January wildfires that tore through greater Los Angeles have created a litigation wave—and a financing arms race. Plaintiffs’ firms face eight-figure discovery and expert-witness tabs while waiting years for contingency fees, so investment banks are stepping in. Jefferies and Oppenheimer are marketing credit lines and fee-purchase deals that could supply tens of millions of dollars up-front, collateralised by eventual recoveries against Southern California Edison and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power.

Insurance Journal reports that the two banks are circulating pitch decks boasting wildfire-finance experience from the 2019 PG&E saga and promising annualised returns north of 20 percent. The publication notes that some of the 50-plus steering-committee firms have rebuffed outside cash, wary of settlement pressure, but many acknowledge that high-volume tort work is impossible without external capital. Funders, meanwhile, recognise a rare chance to buy into potentially multibillion-dollar fee streams—even if competition is already pushing pricing below the multiples seen in the PG&E deals.

Whether the influx of Wall Street money boosts access to justice or merely fattens lender margins will shape regulatory debates now brewing in Sacramento and Washington. California ethics rules mandate client disclosure, and a proposed federal excise tax threatens to raise funders’ cost of capital. The Los Angeles fire docket therefore doubles as a stress test: can mass-tort finance thrive under closer scrutiny and thinner spreads, or will rising compliance costs cool what has become one of litigation finance’s hottest niches?

Bitfinex Securities to Tokenise £100m Motor Finance Claims

By John Freund |

Bitfinex Securities is turning to the blockchain to tokenize one of Britain’s next big consumer litigation waves. The exchange’s capital-markets arm has unveiled TITAN2, a £100 million direct listing of tokenised equity that will finance legal actions alleging mis-sold commissions in UK motor-finance deals. Investors who buy the three-year tokens will receive a pro-rata slice of any recoveries secured by the claimant group, giving them both exposure to digital assets and to potentially high-yield litigation proceeds.

An article in City A.M. notes that the Supreme Court is expected to rule next month on whether brokers could accept hidden commissions—an appeal of last October’s Court of Appeal decision siding with consumers. Within six weeks of that judgment the Financial Conduct Authority must decide if a formal redress scheme is warranted, putting potential damages into the billions and raising the stakes for funders.

Bitfinex is working with specialist infrastructure provider Ctrl Alt. Because payouts hinge on successful recoveries, the tokens resemble traditional litigation-finance equity rather than fixed-income notes, but with the added liquidity (and volatility) of crypto trading venues.

Tokenisation could lower the cost of capital and widen the investor pool for UK consumer-claim portfolios. Yet volatility, regulatory patchwork and questions around enforceability of on-chain securities could temper enthusiasm. Expect rival funders to watch TITAN2’s uptake closely as they weigh whether crypto rails offer a competitive edge or merely fresh compliance headaches.

Senate Trims Litigation Finance Tax, ILFA Still Objects

By John Freund |

Senate Republicans have softened—but not scrapped—their bid to impose a hefty new levy on litigation funders. The latest draft of Sen. Thom Tillis’s tax-reconciliation package cuts the proposed tax on litigation-finance proceeds to the still onerous 31.8%, down from an eye-watering 40.8% floated earlier this month. Yet other, more punitive features remain, including a bar on offsetting gains with losses and the removal of protections for tax-exempt backers, leaving funders warning that the measure still threatens to “wipe out” a $16 billion industry.

An article in Bloomberg Law notes that the rate tweak is part of a frantic bid by GOP leaders to meet President Trump’s July 4 deadline for passage of the broader budget package.

Industry pushback has been fierce. Paul Kong, executive director of the International Legal Finance Association, said the revision “doesn’t change” the bill’s apparent aim of shuttering third-party funding and “shutting down corporate accountability.” The association, along with major funders and their law-firm partners, has ramped up lobbying in recent weeks, courting swing-state senators and warning that the proposal would chill access-to-justice initiatives by making case financing uneconomical. The provision first surfaced in a standalone Tillis bill in May, pitched as a transparency measure, before being folded into the fast-moving reconciliation vehicle unveiled on June 4

Even at a reduced 31.8%, the tax could erode margins on diversified litigation portfolios, particularly if Congress refuses loss offsets. If the clause survives the July 4 vote, expect funders to accelerate efforts to domicile investments offshore, securitize portfolios to spread risk, or pursue lower-profile growth markets overseas.

Omni Bridgeway Tops 2025 Chambers Rankings

Global funder Omni Bridgeway has notched the highest number of Band 1 recognitions worldwide in Chambers and Partners’ freshly released 2025 Litigation Support Guide.

A Mondaq press release details how the Sydney-listed financier swept the board across North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, Canada and Latin America, while also taking top global slots for international arbitration, asset tracing, and recovery. The guide also singled out a dozen Omni executives—among them Canada’s PJ Bouchard and IP specialist Sarah Tsou—for individual accolades, reinforcing the depth of the firm’s bench.

Chambers’ research hinges on extensive client and peer interviews, making repeat Band 1 status a rigorous endorsement of Omni’s investment track record and client service. The firm’s geographic breadth—24 offices on five continents—has been a differentiator, enabling cross-border portfolio solutions that smaller rivals struggle to match. CEO Raymond van Hulst credited the “skills-plus-capital model” and doubled-down on Omni’s pledge to stay a 20% co-investor in its core funds, keeping skin in the game alongside LPs.

Another global funder, Deminor, was awarded a Band 1 rating in Europe, whilst also notching a fresh Band 2 placement for Southeast Asia and Band 4 debut in the UK, alongside a Band 2 nod for international arbitration—a strategic triad that mirrors the firm’s recent office launches in Hong Kong, London and Stockholm. CEO Erik Bomans called the multi-jurisdictional sweep a “defining moment,” highlighting Deminor’s 77.8% recovery rate across 23 jurisdictions.

The full Chambers and Partners ratings can be found here.

Burford Study: Opt-Out Value Left Behind

By John Freund |

Burford Capital’s latest research trains a spotlight on an oft-overlooked revenue stream hiding in plain sight: opt-out commercial class actions.

A PR Newswire release reveals findings from an independent survey of 301 US in-house lawyers. More than half the corporates surveyed faced potential class-action recoveries topping $50 million over the past five years, yet 62 % habitually remained in the class. Asked why, 73 % pointed to litigation costs and 71 % flagged timing-and-outcome uncertainty—precisely the frictions legal finance is designed to absorb. Burford Vice-Chair David Perla framed the takeaway bluntly: “Value creation is being left on the table.”

Beyond headline stats, the report underscores a growing corporate appetite for monetisation structures: upfront capital in exchange for a slice of an eventual award. With treasury teams laser-focused on liquidity in a higher-for-longer rate environment, that message is likely to land.

For funders, the data provide fresh ammunition in boardroom pitches: opting out plus non-recourse financing can turbo-charge recoveries without budget hits.

Tillis Tax Plan Could Gut U.S. Litigation Funding

By John Freund |

Sen. Thom Tillis’s bid to tack the “Tackling Predatory Litigation Funding Act” onto the Senate’s broad tax package has jolted the litigation-finance community. The North Carolina Republican frames his proposal as consumer protection, but funders say it targets them for punitive treatment just as capital flows into the sector to help plaintiffs and contingency-fee firms square off against deep-pocketed defendants.

An opinion piece in The Washington Times warns that the measure would “weaponize” the Internal Revenue Code. The bill would slap a 40.8 percent levy on “qualified litigation proceeds,” collected at the funding-vehicle level regardless of investor tax status. Any arrangement that “creates a direct or collateralized interest” in case outcomes is swept in—including law-firm loans carrying interest above seven percent. Losses, NOLs and routine expenses could not offset gains, and the tax would reach back to deals inked before 2026 if profits are realized afterward.

Supporters such as former Treasury official James Carter claim the change would close what they see as a loophole allowing foreign investors to harvest U.S. judgments tax-free, projecting $3.5 billion in new revenue over ten years. Detractors—among them NYU tax scholar Gregg Polsky—call the bill a “kill shot” that ignores existing capital-gains rules, punishes pension funds and endowments, and sets a dangerous precedent for targeting disfavored industries through confiscatory rates.

Should the Tillis language survive conference, after-tax returns for U.S. funders could be cut nearly in half overnight, chilling new commitments and driving capital offshore. The industry’s response—mobilizing heavyweight lobbyists and building bipartisan coalitions—will test whether its growing economic footprint can translate into political clout on Capitol Hill.

Omni Bridgeway Eyes Bangladesh Asset-Recovery Push

By John Freund |

Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has launched an aggressive hunt for wealth allegedly spirited offshore during Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule. Central-bank governor and former IMF economist Ahsan H. Mansur says the campaign could target “tens of billions” across multiple jurisdictions, and he is canvassing up to US $100 million in third-party capital to pay the legal bills.

An article in The Asian Age reports that global funder Omni Bridgeway has already held a series of meetings in Dhaka and London with Mansur and executives from sixteen domestic banks to structure a bespoke vehicle that would finance asset-tracing, judgment enforcement and recovery of non-performing loans. Omni’s enforcement managing director Wieger Wielinga confirmed interest, citing the firm’s recent sovereign-award collections and its appetite for emerging-market risk. Mansur’s London visit earlier this month also included briefings with UK regulators on evidence-gathering and potential freezing orders.

The proposed fund would complement eleven “high-priority” probes already under way and could operate on a contingency-fee basis, shielding taxpayers from upfront legal spend while granting funders a share of any recovered sums. Critics inside Bangladesh warn that cash settlements with so-called “financial rogues” risk undercutting the anti-corruption mandate that powered the July 2024 revolution, while political opponents liken the plan to “outsourcing justice.”

If finalized, this mandate would rank among the largest sovereign asset-recovery financings to date, signaling widening acceptance of public-sector litigation funding across the Global South.

Deminor and Loopa Plot Germany’s Next Funding Phase

By John Freund |

Germany’s third-party funding market has evolved from a niche offshoot of insurance indemnity into a dynamic arena powered by collective-redress reforms and inbound capital. Practitioners say deal flow is rising as consumers leverage new opt-out mechanisms and corporates monetize dormant claims amid higher interest rates.

An article in CDR News chronicles how Deminor Litigation Funding, Latin-American entrant Loopa Finance and global heavyweight Omni Bridgeway are jockeying for market share while lawmakers debate caps on funder fees. Interviewees highlight a pivot toward portfolio deals and judgment-enforcement finance as Germany’s debtor-friendly regime forces sharper recoverability analytics. Law firms remain cautious after the Federal Court of Justice’s 2024 disclosure ruling left grey areas on privilege and control.

Observers foresee a surge in competition-damages and diesel-emissions claims once the EU’s Representative Actions Directive is fully transposed. Insurers—long the dominant capital providers—now face competition from specialist funds offering bespoke risk-sharing structures, while US and UK investors eye cross-border arbitration opportunities seated in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf.

Commentary: 41 % Litigation-Finance Tax Would Backfire

By John Freund |

The Senate’s proposed 41 percent levy on litigation-finance profits “solves nothing besides optics” and risks driving up overall litigation costs, according to tax columnist Andrew Leahey.

A column in Bloomberg Law argues the bill misunderstands how funders realize returns, which often materialize years after cash outlays and only when cases prevail. That timing quirk means the nominal rate vastly overstates the real burden.

Leahey notes the draft also exempts foreign-state-backed funders, potentially inviting capital from “countries of concern” to fill any vacuum left by U.S. investors. He predicts that, if enacted, the measure would raise little revenue while prompting constitutional challenges under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments—particularly on grounds of discriminatory treatment and retroactivity.

For the legal-funding market, the column crystallizes several dangers: higher pricing for plaintiffs, larger settlement demands as investors recoup costs, and a shift toward opaque offshore vehicles not subject to U.S. oversight. Funders may therefore front-load deals before any retroactive effective date and step up advocacy for transparency-oriented reforms over punitive taxation.

Burford Counters Tyson Foods Over Chicken-Price Settlement Fight

By John Freund |

Burford Capital has moved to knock out Tyson Foods’ interference lawsuit, telling an Illinois federal judge that the meat-packing giant—not the world’s largest litigation financier—scuttled talks to resolve sprawling chicken price-fixing claims brought by food distributor Sysco. In a motion to dismiss filed this week, Burford branded Tyson’s allegations of settlement meddling as “threadbare” speculation aimed at diverting attention from the underlying antitrust accusations.

An article in Reuters details Tyson’s April complaint accusing Burford of trying to “co-opt the legal system” by blocking a deal Sysco had weighed. Tyson says the funder leveraged its $140 million financing stake to push for a richer payout, impeding Sysco’s autonomy in the long-running poultry cartel litigation.

Burford’s filing counters that its 2019 funding agreement explicitly allows the financier to participate in settlement talks and notes Tyson rejected Sysco’s last offer back in 2021. After Burford thwarted what it viewed as sub-par settlements, Sysco transferred its claims to Burford affiliate Carina Ventures, removing the food-service giant from the case while preserving its potential recovery.

The skirmish comes as congressional Republicans revive proposals to tax litigation-finance proceeds at nearly 41%, underscoring a season of heightened scrutiny over how much influence funders wield in antitrust and class actions. Burford, which has repeatedly defended its model as bolstering access to justice, says Tyson’s suit would chill capital-backed claims by re-writing freely negotiated contracts after the fact.

For funders, the outcome may clarify how far investment contracts can reach into settlement strategy—especially when the underlying defendant wants a bargain exit. If Burford prevails, expect financiers to lean harder on contractual rights; if Tyson scores traction, future deals could feature stricter carve-outs to avoid similar challenges.

Litigation Capital Management Dissects CJC Funding Overhaul

By John Freund |

Regulatory upheaval is back on the agenda in London. Litigation Capital Management (LCM) has published a punch-by-punch analysis of the Civil Justice Council’s long-awaited Final Report on Litigation Funding, released earlier this month. The Working Party’s 58 recommendations include reversing PACCAR via legislation, imposing case-specific capital-adequacy tests, mandating early disclosure of funder identity and ultimate capital source, and introducing a “comprehensive but light-touch” statutory regime to replace today’s voluntary code.

In an article in Lexology, Sarah Webster of LCM notes that some proposals—such as exempting arbitration from the new rules and declining to cap funder returns—will please investors. Others, LCM argues, risk spawning “significant satellite litigation” and dampening appetite: an unenforceability penalty for regulatory breaches could hand defendants leverage to unravel funding deals mid-stream, while forcing disclosure of every ultimate investor may chill fundraising.

Additional layers for consumer and opt-out class actions would require independent KC advice and court sign-off on funder returns, potentially elongating timelines and increasing costs. Nonetheless, LCM welcomes recommendations to make funding costs recoverable in “exceptional circumstances” and to establish a standing data-collection committee that could inject empirical rigour into future policy debates.

Taken together, the Report sketches the most sweeping overhaul of third-party funding anywhere in the common-law world. Whether Westminster enacts the package—and how swiftly—now becomes the trillion-pound question.

Sentry Expands Free Funding Market Search for Litigators

By John Freund |

Sentry Funding’s free tool enabling litigators to instantly search the funding market on behalf of clients has been expanded.

Sentry’s free ‘decision in principle’ feature enables lawyers to evidence to clients that they have conducted a broad market search, even if funding is not ultimately taken out.

Having deployed £125m in funding across a range of case types, Sentry now has access to an even broader funding marketplace, covering 34 global jurisdictions. Finance is provided by 13 funders, five of which are members of the Association of Litigation Funders.

With the recent addition of Sentry’s first US-based funder, the US offering will now be expanding over the next few months. 

A faster process

Sentry has deployed the latest technology to make the search for funding even easier. 

  • The intuitive application process now only asks questions relevant to previous answers, saving lawyers time.
  • The commercial marketplace has been redeveloped with 63 new data points added to the funder criteria matrix - improving the accuracy of case / funder matching
  • Sentry has also begun building out its AI capabilities, starting with an automated auditing tool for live case progression audits. 

Tom Webster, chief executive officer at Sentry Funding, said:

‘By broadening our reach and speeding up the process, we’re making it even easier for lawyers to raise funding. We’re also giving litigators an easy way to show clients they have fully researched the market, rather than just approaching one or two funders. 

‘The service is free to use, so even if clients decide they do not ultimately want funding or if none is available for that case, for the lawyer, it makes sense to use our “decision in principle” feature, so they can put evidence on file that they did check the market.’

Sentry Funding is an SaaS (software as a service) technology provider that gives solicitors access to a diverse marketplace of litigation funders. It works with solicitors, funders and third-party providers to ensure claimants are getting the most efficient service for their funding needs. 

The Sentry Portal also acts as a case management system that runs a transparent digital case file for solicitors, funders, after-the-event insurance providers, barristers, cost lawyers and other relevant third parties.

NorthWall Capital Hits €2.9 B AUM on Private Credit Momentum

By John Freund |

NorthWall Capital has rocketed past €2.9 billion in assets under management after pulling in an additional €1.6 billion of institutional capital in 2025 alone. The London-based alternative credit manager says the surge reflects allocators’ intensifying hunt for scaled, multi-strategy platforms as Europe’s banks retrench and borrowers seek bespoke sources of credit.

A press release from NorthWall Capital details first-close totals across four distinct strategies. The flagship Credit Opportunities fund secured €731 million—already eclipsing its prior vintage—while the newly launched Senior Lending vehicle raised $503 million, translating to roughly $750 million of deployable firepower once leverage is applied. Asset-Backed Opportunities collected €252 million for collateral-rich loans in sectors underserved by traditional lenders, and the specialist Legal Assets platform locked down $169 million to extend the firm’s law-firm lending programme.

Founder and CIO Fabian Chrobog said the fundraising validates “the consistency of our approach” and NorthWall’s ability to craft solutions that resonate with investors and counterparties alike. With headcount slated to hit 40 by year-end, the firm plans to lean further into complex, situational credit born of bank deleveraging, regulatory shifts and sponsors’ need for certainty of execution.