Commercial

News and analysis dedicated to the commercial litigation funding sector including regulatory issues, case developments, funding activities, and more.

Commercial

2750 Articles

Legal-Bay Opens Nationwide Commercial Litigation Funding Division

By John Freund |

LOS ANGELESAug. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Legal-Bay LLC, the Lawsuit Settlement Funding Company, announced that they have launched a new lawsuit finance 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. Legal-Bay feels this is an under-served market and plans to build a new division to accommodate the needs in the market.

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Questions Arise Over Burford Executives’ Pay

By John Freund |

New questions have arisen over payouts to top Burford executives, including CEO Christopher Bogart and co-foudner Jonathan Molot. Despite founding the company, the pair were not actually employees of Burford Capital until 2012. Prior to that, they formed an advisory firm – Burford Group Limited – and charged Burford Capital fees for their advisory work. In the wake of the Muddy Waters allegations, the pair are facing questions about the complex financial structure, as well as their current salaries which remain undisclosed, given the fact that neither is on the company’s board. 

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Supreme Court of Canada agrees to hear an appeal in a case funded by Bentham IMF involving lawsuit against Callidus Capital Corporation

By John Freund |

Bentham IMF Capital Limited (Bentham) is pleased to announce that the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has agreed to hear an appeal in a matter that Bentham is funding. As a result, Canada’s highest court will hear arguments for the first time relating to the important role of modern litigation funding in providing access to justice for parties, including those who are insolvent or bankrupt.

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Comprehensive Report on Litigation Funding and Expenses Market 2019-2025

By John Freund |

This report studies the Litigation Funding and Expenses Market size by players, regions, product types and end industries, history data 2019-2026 and forecast data 2019-2026; This report also studies the global market competition landscape, market drivers and trends, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter’s Five Forces Analysis.

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BMW Takes Regency Funding to High Court Over Common Fund Order

By John Freund |

In what could be the largest class action in Australian history, Regency Funding is bankrolling a claim against several car makers over faulty airbags which led to at least one fatality and multiple injuries. However one of the car makers, BMW, is challenging the common fund order that allows Regency to collect 25% of any payout, even from those who have not formally joined the class. 

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ROSEN, A TOP RANKED LAW FIRM: Updates Investigation of Securities Claims Against Burford Capital Limited

By John Freund |

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 12, 2019 / Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, issues this update on its continuing investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Burford Capital Limited (OTC PINK:BRFRF)(OTC PINK:BRFRY) resulting from allegations that Burford Capital may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

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Burford Responds to Muddy Waters Claims; Labels Them ‘False and Misleading’

By John Freund |

Burford Capital CEO Christopher Bogart and co-founder Jonathan Molot have shot back at US-based hedge fund Muddy Waters’ claims that Burford misreports its earnings, and is ‘arguably insolvent.’ In a call to investors earlier today, Bogart characterized the allegations as ‘false and misleading,’ and sought to assure investors by stating that both he and Molot had personally invested $4MM into Burford’s stock after the Muddy Waters announcement was made. 

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Litigation Funding and Expenses: Are We Bound for a Conflict of Interest?

By John Freund |

There’s been much talk about litigation funding and legal fees, and whether the existence of funding generates an inherent conflict of interest. While there are some legitimate concerns here, the anxiety is mostly overblown. In an increasingly-commoditized industry, litigation funders aren’t likely to risk repetitional harm by directing or even influencing case management and strategy. 

All of that said, legal fees are only one side of the coin. Funders also cover case expenses, and here is an area where conflict of interest may actually arise. 

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

By John Freund |

US-based hedge fund Muddy Waters has caused some serious ripples with its allegations against Burford Capital. In a recently released video, Muddy Waters CEO contends that Burford’s largest shareholder – Invesco – essentially bailed out Napo Pharmaceuticals, a company whose legal claim Burford was financing. 

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Launch of ArbiLex Brings AI and Predictive Analytics to International Arbitration

By John Freund |

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.Aug. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — ArbiLex today announced the launch of its Arbitrator Analytics Platform, which is transforming the practice of international arbitration by ranking arbitrators through a proprietary reasoning system to enhance decision-making by law firms and litigation funds. ArbiLex has successfully tested the efficacy of its algorithms with leading global law firms and litigation funds seeking a competitive edge in multi-billion-dollar cases around the world.

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Editec Global HR Head joins Augusta

By John Freund |

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

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Litigation Funding Investment Market Report 2019 Analysis By Major Players; Sydney-based IMF Bentham Ltd., and Apex

By John Freund |

The research report, titled “Global Litigation Funding Investment Market Size and Forecast to 2024,” proposes an evaluation of this market on the basis of its history as well as the present-day performance. The report further emphasizes on each of the topographical segments. The principal driving forces, restrictions, hindering factors, key trends, opportunities, and future prospects of the global market have also been taken into consideration in this market study.

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Crowdfunding Litigation Market Industry: global market trends, share, size and forecast report 2019-2024

By John Freund |

Global Crowdfunding Litigation Market Report 2019 is a professional and in-depth research report on the world’s major regional market conditions of the Crowdfunding Litigation industry, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia) and the main countries (United States, Germany, Japan and China).

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Enforcement in the UK is a Growing Problem

By John Freund |

With no automatic enforcement mechanism in place and only 60% of awards under £10,000 being fully enforced, the UK is experiencing a crisis of enforcement. Given that litigation funders must take collection risk into account when proposing an investment thesis, it’s worth examining the current enforcement climate in the UK in greater detail.

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China Lending Forges Partnerships to Accelerate the Development of Its Consumer Financing Business and Expand into Litigation Guarantee Business

By John Freund |

BEIJING, URUMQI, China and HANGZHOU, ChinaJuly 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — China Lending Corporation (“China Lending” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: CLDC), a non-bank financial corporation servicing micro, small and medium sized enterprises in China, today announced that it has entered into a five-year strategic partnership with Zhong Lian Jin An Insurance Brokers Co., Ltd. (“ZLJA”), a leading insurance brokerage company in China with over 90 branches across the nation.

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Collective Action Led by Scott+Scott Europe LLP Launched in the UK Against Major Banks for Foreign Exchange Market Manipulation

By John Freund |

London – 29 July, 2019 – A collective action under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 was filed today in the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) by Scott+Scott Europe LLP against five banks who unlawfully manipulated the foreign exchange (FX) market between 2007 and 2013. The representative of the claimant group, Michael O’Higgins, has filed against Barclays plc, Citibank, Royal Bank of Scotland plc, JPMorgan and UBS on behalf of affected entities, including pension funds, asset managers, hedge funds and corporates. This collective action is being funded by Therium Capital Management, a leading global litigation funder.

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Proskauer Director Joins Augusta as Chief Operating Officer

By John Freund |

Augusta, the UK’s largest litigation and dispute funding institution by case volume – with a team of 70 in London – today announces the appointment of Polly Bahl as Chief Operating Officer, based in London. Polly joins from US law firm Proskauer Rose where, as London Director of Professional and Administrative Resources, she coordinated a range of operational functions. A solicitor by training, Polly qualified with SJ Berwin (now King & Wood Mallesons) where she became a partner specialising in private investment funds, a role which latterly incorporated various operational responsibilities.

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MENA’s Pre-Eminent Financial Restructuring Summit Returns to Dubai This September

By John Freund |

Dubai: Middle East Global Advisors, a leading financial intelligence platform spearheading the development of knowledge-based economies in the MENASEA markets, will convene The 2nd Annual Corporate Restructuring Summit (CRS 2019) – the MENA region’s pre-eminent Debt Restructuring and NPL-focused Summit, in strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) on September 11-12 at the Address Dubai Mall in Dubai, UAE.

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Law Firm Financing in the Wake of the NYC Bar Opinion

By John Freund |

Last year, the New York City Bar Association issued an advisory opinion suggesting that funding agreements between lawyers and third party funders violates ABA Model Rule 5.4(a), which prohibits fee sharing with non-lawyers. The opinion has sparked furious debate (and much consternation) in the litigation funding community ever since. But practically speaking, how has the NYC Bar’s opinion impacted law firm funding? 

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Should Litigation Funders Worry About Kirkland’s Push into Contingency-Fee Litigation?

By John Freund |

Recently, law firm Kirkland & Ellis announced a ten-fold increase in investment dollars towards contingency-fee plaintiff-side claims. Alternative fee arrangements have been the most profitable component of the law firm thus far, so management figures ‘why not roll the dice’ on what’s already been working? The question now is: is Kirkland’s approach a harbinger of things to come? And if so, how will this impact litigation funders down the road? 

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How Dividex Packaged a Pair of Danish Class Actions for Litigation Funding

By John Freund |

Dividex, the international securities class action broker and case manager, wanted in on a Novo Nordisk class action after the stock shed over $50B in the wake of fraud allegations. The only problem? No litigation funders would bite, given that the Danish Pharma company would have to face the scales of justice on its home turf (international securities actions can no longer be tried in the U.S., pursuant to a 2010 Supreme Court decision). And since funding is needed to get an international securities action off the ground, the deal was dead in the water. Until, that is, Dividex packaged the deal into its own version of a portfolio funding arrangement. 

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Canadian Innovator JL Energy Transportation Inc. Successfully Defends Patent Challenge From Major Canada/US Pipeline and Gas Processing Companies

By John Freund |

CALGARYJuly 17, 2019 /CNW/ – JL Energy Transportation Inc. (“JETI”, more: www.jlenergy.com) announces that it has successfully defended a Federal Court challenge to its gas transportation patent, with the Court confirming the validity of its key patent terms. This endorsement clears the way for JETI’s continuation of its license and patent infringement claims against an alliance of major Canadian and US pipeline and gas processing companies.

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The Perils of Crowdfunding Litigation

By John Freund |

GoFundMe recently cancelled an Australian rugby player’s crowdfunded legal campaign, and the story made international headlines. Now some experts are scrutinizing the ethical and practical concerns of crowdfunding litigation; some of which will sound very familiar to litigation funders, yet others are unique to the crowdfunding niche. 

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