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Members of the IALF Working Group met to discuss seven agenda items including filling leadership positions within the organization. Seven members attended via video, and six via Email.

Between 2013-2015, sportswear giant Nike won court battles against more than 600 counterfeit shoe sellers based in China. Assets were ordered frozen by a US court. While Nike did win, every counterfeiter defaulted on the judgment.

Australian courts have had to adapt to the changes brought about by the increased use of litigation funding. The practice is a net gain for the community and clients who gain access to justice they could not otherwise afford. Still, some say that the availability of funding has sparked an untenable number of lawsuits—class actions in particular.

A funded class-action against the group of Australian building companies known as James Hardie is about to begin. Leaks in 376 buildings led to homeowners seeking damages of roughly AUD $220 million. Harbour Litigation Funding provided support for the case early on.

BHP is, by market value, the largest mining company in the world. In 2015, the Fundao dam, owned jointly by BHP and Vale (Samarco) collapsed—killing 19 people and contaminating the Doca river, reaching all the way to the Atlantic Ocean over 400 miles away.

A $300 million judgment known in legal circles as “The Zhunus Judgement” is still being scrutinized by the parties involved. Harbour Litigation Funding brought several charges against Kazakhstan Kagazy JSC with relation to the judgment.

Sundance Resources Ltd (“Sundance” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has signed a binding Capital Provision Agreement (“CPA”) with Burford Asia Investments Pte. Ltd. (“Burford”), an affiliate of Burford Capital Limited, the world’s leading global finance and asset management business focused on law.

It is well understood that Litigation Finance offers plaintiffs a means to pay legal teams, experts, researchers, and others who can make or break a legal matter. But what else does third-party litigation finance accomplish?

Litigation Finance has changed dramatically in the last decade-plus. Boosted by a global health and financial crisis, third-party legal funding has risen to the occasion with spectacular adaptability. But as regulations evolve and societal understanding of the practice grows—how will that impact the industry in the years to come?

A class-action lawsuit against Sector Alarm and Verisure accuses the companies of over billing customers to the tune of NOK 1-2 billion.

The use of third-party legal funding is gaining acceptance around the world. In the Middle East, both civil and Shariah jurisdictions exist. This implies various concerns in regard to ensuring that legal funding is Shariah-compliant.

Kenneth A Brause, a 35-year veteran of the financial services industry, has been appointed the new CFO of Burford Capital. He’ll be fulfilling his duties in the New York office after a three-month period where the current CFO, Jim Killman, will aid in the transition.

Speculation is rampant that a recent 5.6% drop in Omni Bridgeway stock was precipitated by a partial settlement in the Wivenhoe class action. The funded case, which involved over 6,500 claimants, sought damages of roughly $880 million. Defendants included the Queensland government, and two state-owned companies: Seqwater, and Sunwater.

The latest episode of the LFJ Podcast features Ben Moss, Litigation Finance Portfolio Advisor at Orchard Group. Ben discussed the benefits of Orchard’s asset manager model, how Orchard is approaching the market, the types of claims it is looking to fund, and outlined his predictions for the industry as the global legal landscape emerges from COVID-induced lockdowns.

Survivors of the so-called “Stolen Generations” may finally see their day in court. Shine Lawyers are gearing up to file a class action against the Australian government. More than 800 claimants are asking to be compensated for the loss of culture and connection to their country, and for the trauma suffered.  

A 2017 class-action lawsuit brought by Shine Lawyers against Westpac Group has settled. The case claimed that an estimated 80,000 customers were sold unnecessarily expensive insurance between 2011-2017. The action was funded by third-party legal funder JustKapital.

Since the 2016/17 financial year, the size of the Litigation Finance market has doubled—bringing total assets under management to a whopping GBP 2 billion. Why is that?

Those who remain skeptical of the benefits of Litigation Finance need look no further than the recent UK Post Office case. Last week, 30 criminal convictions were vacated in an action that would not have proceeded were it not for third-party legal funding. And make no mistake—that would have been a grave injustice.

Last year, the UK saw a sharp decline in the number of commercial litigations. This happened due to the combination of economic shortfalls, and corporations opting not to pursue litigation during a pandemic. EY research shows that nearly a third of survey respondents opted not to pursue litigation during the pandemic. That implies a backlog of meritorious claims. 

LCM CEO Patrick Moloney details that LCM has made strong progress in the first half of its fiscal year. Quality applications are up, and demand for legal finance is increasing as predicted. Most of the direct investment portfolio is balance sheet funded, and portfolio investments are reaching maturity. While timing remains somewhat unpredictable, that should smooth out as portfolio investments increase over time.

The District of New Jersey has proposed an amendment that, if enacted, would require disclosure when a plaintiff or defendant is utilizing third-party legal funding. The proposed Rule 7.1.1 would require filed statements detailing all information about non-parties providing funding for attorney fees and expenses, in exchange for a percentage of any award.

Earlier convictions for theft, fraud, and false accounting have finally been quashed after a legal skirmish lasting more than a decade. Thanks to support from third-party funder, Therium, thirty-nine sub-postmasters cleared their names after being prosecuted by the state-owned Post Office. The employees had been charged over shortfalls in various branch accounts. It was eventually discovered that Horizon, the IT system used by the Post Office, was to blame for the perceived financial shortfalls.

While Litigation Finance is increasingly popular as a means to manage costs, it’s not without risks. Case in point: Roger Brian Allanson has recently been struck from the roll of…

It may seem like a meritorious case and a competent legal team are all a plaintiff needs to recover funds. But what happens when a defendant declares bankruptcy? The situation becomes more complex for all involved—but it’s certainly not insurmountable if you know how to proceed.

As the science becomes more definitive, climate-related lawsuits are growing in number and size. Since 2018, legal actions relating to climate change have almost doubled—at over 1,700 cases globally. Thus far, nearly ¾ of the total lawsuits have been aimed at governments. This is sure to continue as closer attention is paid to the stated goals of the Paris Climate Accord.

 Temur Akhmedov, the adult son of divorced Russian oligarchs Farkhad Akhmedov and Tatiana Akhmedova, has been ordered by a judge to pay his mother GBP 100 million. The judge, Gwynneth Knowles, reportedly called the younger Akhmedov “dishonest,” saying he would stop at nothing to assist his father.

RBG Holdings is the parent company for a number of legal entities including legal firm Rosenblatt Limited, Convex Capital Limited, and LionFish Litigation Finance. Now, RBG has added boutique law firm, Memery Crystal, to its stable of businesses.

In the United Kingdom, investor fraud is a growing problem. According to the UK’s own national reporting, Action Fraud received more than 17,000 reports of investment fraud—to the tune of over GBP 650 million. So what’s the good news? The Litigation Finance industry can be instrumental in helping defrauded people receive remuneration through collective actions.

Managing Director of Bench Walk Advisors, Adrian Chopin, makes it his business to dissect and quantify different aspects of the litigation funding market. Recently, Chopin examined the impact of operating costs by comparing two hypothetical cost structures used by funders.

Emily Tillett is a Vice President at Burford Capital and leads investment activity and operations in Hong Kong. She recently sat down to answer questions about her career trajectory and the litigation funding industry.