Two barristers and two solicitors are under fire for allegedly misappropriating at least $19 million in fees relating to the Banksia class action. Barristers Norman O’Bryan and Michael Symons will be permanently banned from practicing law. Solicitors Anthony Zita and Alex Elliot will be required to show cause for why they too should not be banned from the practice of law.
Three men from Chorley and one from Leyland are suing auto giant Mercedes over its role in “dieselgate.” Dieselgate impacted multiple car manufacturers, accusing them of using defeat devices to illegally skirt emission standards. National consumer rights firm Slater and Gordon are bringing the claim.
Last week, Litigation Finance Journal held a special digital event on the evolution of corporate portfolio funding. How has portfolio funding evolved over the years? Why have corporates been slow to adopt the practice? How is COVID impacting that adoption rate? And what can funders do to convince corporates that the benefits of portfolio funding outweigh any perceived drawbacks?
Nivalion, Europe´s leading provider of legal finance solutions, announced today that it will acquire the portfolio and know-how of Carpentum Capital Ltd., a Swiss company that has been at the forefront of the development of litigation funding in Latin America, with lawyers on the ground in Argentina, Brazil and Chile.
Over the last decade, third-party litigation funding has been increasingly popular as a means of increasing access to justice. At its core, TPF is a way to put investor money toward meritorious legal cases (often, but not always, class actions) in exchange for a share of the award or settlement it generates. As the cost of litigation increases, the need for legal funding grows.
Mining companies are especially susceptible to disputes arising from the impact of COVID. Tax issues, regulatory changes, politics, and supply chain failures can all lead to large-scale disputes. In fact, mining disputes made up the majority of investor-state arbitration cases last year.
Pretium, a specialized investment management firm with approximately $30 billion in assets, today announced that Tatiana Gutierrez and Jeannette Arazi have joined the firm as Managing Directors on its Affordable Housing and Real Estate Capital Markets teams, respectively.
On the topic of third-party legal funding, trial judges past and present have much to say. Hearing them out can tell us a lot about how the industry is perceived by the courts and how that may impact its future. A recent interview with Judge Shira Scheindlin includes three questions that shed light on how courts view the practice of litigation funding.
The Competition Appeals Tribunal has granted permission for a class action against British Telecommunications to move forward. The action could be worth as much as GBP 600 million, and asserts rampant overcharging of landline customers. The action is being funded by third-party funder Harbour Litigation Funding.
Fortress Investment Group LLC (“Fortress”) today announced that following the acquisition of Vannin Capital by funds managed by Fortress in 2019, the operations of Vannin Capital are now being restructured into the Fortress Legal Assets business.
Omni Bridgeway (formerly known in the US as Bentham IMF) is pleased to announce a significant expansion of its US investment team to accommodate its growth in the world’s hottest legal finance market. In addition to adding four brand new investment professionals, we are thrilled to announce the promotion of four team members who have been key players on our US team.
As more investors discover the benefits of Litigation Finance, funders have had to become more proactive about funding cases. Collective action cases are particularly attractive to funders due to large class sizes and the potential for high payouts. As the industry becomes larger and more influential, innovations abound.
With demand for litigation finance continuing to grow among businesses of all sizes, leading dispute funder Validity Finance reports it has raised a new managed fund of $70 million in capital commitments. The newly raised “sidecar” fund further diversifies Validity’s business and advances its experience as an alternative asset manager. To date, Validity’s third-party managed funds total nearly $150 million of assets under management, in addition to its permanent capital base.
Day two of of the two-day event saw a trio of panels that covered topics such as investment strategy and risk management, the interplay between fund types, and litigation finance as a tool for ESG.
Three Warrington men are bringing a claim against German carmaker Mercedes, relating to its role in the recent dieselgate scandal. Working with lawyers from consumer rights firm Slater and Gordon, the trio expects the case to become a collective action. Slater and Gordon is also a joint lead attorney in the dieselgate action against Volkswagen.
Even among other large-scale infrastructure projects around the world, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is impressive. Its plan is to expand and fortify the Silk Road in an international effort that involves stakeholders from around the globe. In any venture of this size, legal disputes cannot be avoided.
Day one of the two-day 2021 LF Dealmakers conference has officially concluded. The day included a keynote address from Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, six panel discussions, and a host of networking opportunities.
The LF Dealmakers conference kicked off this morning with a keynote address from Judge Shira A. Scheindlin. The address was titled “Litigation Finance: Survey of a Shifting Landscape,” and covered four main issues: ethics, fee sharing, disclosure regulations and privileged communications between funder and attorneys.
New-Delhi based start-up LegalPay has announced the closing of its first special purpose vehicle. The arbitration-focused SPV, which involved a pool of 8-12 cases that would diversify investment risk, was oversubscribed in record time, according to a recent statement from the company.
GetSwift Technologies Limited (NEO:GSW) (“GetSwift” or the “Company”), a leading provider of last mile SaaS logistics technology, today as a result of market regulatory requirements announced that has disclosed details of its previously announced Heads of Agreement (HOA) for a settlement with law firm Phi Finney McDonald and Therium Capital Management (Australia) Pty Ltd. and Mr. Raffaele Webb (the “Applicant“) in connection with the class action proceedings before the Federal Court of Australia (the “Court“).
Australia’s requirement for third-party legal funders to hold an Australian Financial Services License took effect in August of last year. From that point forward, funders were subject to rules regarding managed investment schemes under the Corporations Act.
