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

After a forced liquidation in 2019, Neil Woodford is back. The former “Oracle of Oxford” announced his new business venture, WCM Partners, after a public apology for what transpired in his last business. The new venture will be based in Jersey and Buckinghamshire.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg continues his assault on class actions by making permanent what was meant to be a temporary regulatory shield. The extension of the COVID-inspired policy means that corporations breaching their disclosure obligations may now only be subjected to civil penalties in situations where they acted knowingly and with negligence or recklessness.

More often than not, corporate legal departments have their own preferred provider network of law firm partners. Periodically, these networks are reevaluated and updated to streamline strategy or control costs. These occasional reviews have become more frequent, and requests for proposals (RFPs) are up 25% from where they were in 2017. As restructuring and budget shortfalls are becoming increasingly common thanks to COVID, these panel reviews are likely to continue.

As COVID continues to ravage businesses, insolvencies and breach of contract lawsuits have skyrocketed. In India, businesses are enduring a crash in sales and revenue. They also lack the mechanisms needed to effectively address the sharp rise in litigation.

A settlement between kiwifruit growers and the Crown has finally been reached. Ray Smith, director of the Ministry for Primary Industries has stated that all parties agreed to move forward and bring the case—which has been running since 2014—to a close.

Roughly 45 million Mastercard holders are represented in a class action against the credit giant. Accused of using ‘interchange fees’ to charge unreasonably high prices, Mastercard faces a claim that could be worth GBP 14 billion.

It’s no secret that an increase in insolvency filings looms on the horizon. Debt restructuring, government relief programs, and belt-tightening can only take a business so far. What many businesses don’t realize is that third-party legal funding can provide financial wiggle room.

A global pandemic may have brought sweeping changes, but it hasn’t slowed the filing of new cases. Early numbers suggest that new cases are being filed at about the same levels as the previous year, or higher. ICSID reported 58 new ICSID Convention and Additional Facility arbitrations last year—the most ever. SIAC also reported a record-high number of new cases, topping 1,000 for the first time ever.

About 350 farmers have already registered in the class action suit against Fonterra, but attorney David Burstyner, says that’s not enough. The founding partner of Adley Burstyner has expressed concern that some farmers might be hoping to benefit from the case without attending meetings or becoming involved.

ISGM is facing a class action, alleging that telecom workers endured financial losses stemming from a sub-contracting agreement with the company. Now, the court has approved a counter-claim against group members. 

A recent survey from Omni Bridgeway and the 2020 ACC in-house Legal Virtual Conference suggests that an inability to work litigation costs into corporates’ budgets is what is spurring the rising interest in litigation funding. A panel discussion at the conferenced dissected how legal finance can assist in-house legal teams to manage risk and monetize legal assets.

As commercial litigation grows in popularity, the issue of security for costs looms large. Recently, the Court of Appeals, via Rowe et al vs Ingenious Media Holdings plc et al set a precedent about providing a cross-undertaking in damages when seeking security for costs.

Londoners like Chief Executive Andrew Bailey are staunch adherents to the adage ‘Keep Calm and Carry On.’ With that in mind, onlookers were stunned at the outburst that occurred during Bailey’s recent appearance in front of the Treasury Select Committee. There to answer questions regarding Dame Elizabeth Gloster’s report, Bailey ended up lambasting the performance of the Financial Conduct Authority.

Neil Purslow didn’t intend to become an investment manager when he entered the legal world. Before long, however, he began a love affair with commercial litigation. This led to Purslow developing a broad knowledge base that included mastering the intricacies of the corporate and commercial fields.

This past Thursday, LFJ hosted a digital conference that featured insights from various institutional investors active in the litigation funding sector. The panel – moderated by Ed Truant (ET) of Slingshot Capital – consisted of Jonathan Rix (JR), Senior Associate at UK-based PE firm Partners Capital, Kendra Corbett (KC), Principal on the Investment team of independent asset manager Cloverlay, and David Demeter (DD), Investment Director of Davidson College’s $1Bn endowment fund. 

The event also featured a keynote address from Charles Agee, founder of Westfleet Advisors, a litigation funding advisory firm. Charles discussed the key findings of his 2020 Litigation Finance Market Report–the most holistic industry survey on the market. 

Omni Bridgeway is poised to grow its services for German clients. With that in mind, the firm has added Anna-Maria Quinke to its team. Quinke is an anti-trust litigation specialist who will now serve as Senior Legal Counsel as well as an Investment Manager.

Hosted by Jim Batson, the newest episode of Omni Bridgeway’s podcast features Ariana Tadler, founder of Tadler Law. Baston runs Omni’s New York office and serves as Senior Investment Manager. Tadler is an accomplished class action litigator and a global authority on e-Discovery. She is a founding member of Meta-e Discovery, which does consulting and data hosting.

An upcoming meeting of Fronterra milk suppliers promises to provide information about the developing class action. Fronterra, a major milk processor, is accused of engaging in deceptive and misleading conduct by failing to price match another major milk processor—Murray Goulburn.

Global expansion has been a huge driver of growth in corporate law departments. Managing the array of requirements and regulations around the world presents specific challenges that GCs are meeting with aplomb.

In the past year, COVID has wreaked financial havoc, business interruption, and court delays. It has also led to spikes in specific types of litigation. With that in mind, Litigation Funding is enjoying a resurgence that appears to be here to stay. A legal firm that typically relies on fees from clients may find itself in dire financial straits. Even a firm that’s meeting its goals for billable hours may find that clients are less able to pay.

In this post-Brexit world, London has long positioned itself as a global destination for disputes. A new Court of Appeal judgment clarifying laws relating to Damages Based Agreements helps support that goal. The recent ruling affirms the importance of DBAs, allowing greater access to justice.

Now that Litigation Finance has established itself as a viable industry, laws are being written to clarify finer points and add consistency to laws across jurisdictions. One area of focus is how costs are handled, both in terms of the UK adverse costs regime, and in possible new requirements for third-party funders wishing to obtain securities for cost.