Content for the Public

Deminor, a leading international litigation funder, projects that the investment potential for litigation funding in Europe is set to reach USD 1.8bn annually, representing nearly 16% of the global market. This is according to the white paper, Litigation Funding from a European Perspective, released today. Deminor predicts the investment potential for litigation funding in Europe is set to reach nearly USD 3.7bn in 2025 (+100%), compared to USD 17.8bn globally in 2020.

The High Court of Australia has today unanimously dismissed BHP’s attempt to block shareholders who are not resident in Australia from participating in a class action against the company.

On Wednesday October 5th, LFJ hosted a panel discussion and audience Q&A covering various aspects of ESG within a litigation funding framework, including how funders consider ESG claims, how serious LPs are when it comes to ESG-related criteria, and the backlash swirling around the topic itself. Panelists included Andrew Saker (AS), CEO of Omni Bridgeway, Neil Purslow (NP), CEO of Therium Capital Management, and Alex Garnier (AG), Founding Partner and Portfolio Manager of North Wall Capital. The event was moderated by Ana Carolina Salomao, Partner at Pogust Goodhead.

Omni Bridgeway is pleased to announce expansion and key promotions within its U.S. team, which has grown by over 100% in the past 12 months. 

In the final panel of the conference, Michael Kelley, Partner at Parker Poe, moderated a discussion on lessons that can be learned from past deal issues. Panelists included Chip Hodgkins, Managing Director of Statera Capital, Tracey Thomas, CEO of IP Zone, and Erika Levin, Partner at Fox Rothschild.

This Day 2 panel featured Alex Chucri, CEO and Founder of Pravati Capital, Vincent Montalto, Partner at DLA Piper, and Ronald Schutz, Partner at Robins Kaplan. The panel was moderated by Kathryn Boyd, Partner at Hecht Partners.

Day 2 of the LF Dealmakers conference kicked off with Roy Strom, a reporter at Bloomberg Law, interviewing Adam Gerchen, CEO of Gerchen Keller Partners and Keller Postman LLP.

For the keynote address of the LF Dealmakers conference, Validity Finance Founder and CEO Ralph Sutton, introduced NY Times Best-Selling Author and Civil Rights Litigator, Qian Julie Wang. Her memoir, Beautiful Country, was ranked a best book of 2021 by the New York Times, and has been well-reviewed by many distinguished outlets.

A panel consisting of Sarah Johnson, Senior VP and Co-Head of Litigation Finance at D.E. Shaw, Aaron Katz, Co-Founder and CIO of Parabellum Capital, David Kerstein, Managing Director and Senior Investment Officer at Validity Finance, and Joe Siprut, CEO and CIO of Kerberos Capital Management, discussed the various investment aspects of litigation funding as an asset class. The panel was moderated by Steven Molo, Founding Partner of MoloLamken.

Day 1 of the LF Dealmakers conference has begun. The opening panel saw Ted Farrell, founder of Litigation Funding Advisors, moderate a wide-ranging discussion on the state of legal finance. Panelists included James Bedell, Associate Director of Legal Finance at Yieldstreet, Cindy Chen Delano, Partner at Invictus Global Management, Stephen Kyriacou, Managing Director of Aon, and Michael Nicolas, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Longford Capital.

Wednesday, September 28^th 2022 is Day 1 of the 5^th Annual LF Dealmakers event in New York City. LFJ will be covering the event live, via both on-site content and live-tweeting from our Twitter account. Below, we’ll offer a brief preview of what to expect on Day 1.

Communities lost to damage caused by salt mines in Northern Brazil are celebrating after securing the right to sue petrochemical company Braskem in the Dutch courts.

Though the U.S. litigation finance market continues to expand, less than 12% of federal and state cases filed in 2021 met the minimum threshold to be considered for investment, according to a new report issued today by tech-enabled litigation funder LexShares. This finding, detailed in the inaugural edition of LexShares’ special report, “The Litigation Funding Barometer: A Data-Driven Analysis of What Litigation Funders Want,” illustrates the high bar that law firms and plaintiffs must reach to attract valuable funding dollars for their cases. 

The following article is part of an ongoing column titled ‘Investor Insights.’ 

Brought to you by Ed Truant, founder and content manager of Slingshot Capital, ‘Investor Insights’ will provide thoughtful and engaging perspectives on all aspects of investing in litigation finance. 

Omni Bridgeway is pleased to announce the appointment of Guillaume Leger as Global Chief Financial Officer. Based in New York, Mr. Leger brings extensive corporate finance and public company experience as a key member of the executive team leading the company’s continued U.S. and international expansion.

The way may soon be clear for “On-Sold” homeowners to access a cash payment from EQC without the stringent conditions previously in place.

Burford Capital, the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law, today releases new independent research demonstrating the value of legal finance for companies with valuable commercial class action claims. In recent years, Burford has seen an increasing number of major corporations choosing to opt out of class action lawsuits to pursue high value claims individually and has commissioned independent research to examine the trend in greater depth.

Manolete Partners PLC on Friday said it has received a “rare adverse decision” on one of its larger cases from the UK High Court, forcing it to write down GBP2.3 million.

The following article is part of an ongoing column titled ‘Investor Insights.’ 

Brought to you by Ed Truant, founder and content manager of Slingshot Capital, ‘Investor Insights’ will provide thoughtful and engaging perspectives on all aspects of investing in litigation finance. 

Global law firm Pogust Goodhead has announced the hiring of Jeffrey Gittleman to lead the firm’s growing international antitrust/competition practice.  Mr. Gittleman has joined the firm as a partner in Pogust Goodhead’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office.

With the litigation funding market booming across the globe, established market leaders are seeing the positive impacts on their balance sheets, and these leading funders are building significant amounts of capital ready to be deployed in future cases.

LITFINCON is excited to announce its return to The Post Oak Hotel in Houston in March 2023, after a triumphant conference in March 2022.

LegalPay, a FinTech in legal and insolvency space, announced that it has elevated Kashish Grover as Chief Operating Officer (COO).

The topic of disclosure in litigation where there is the presence of third-party funding has been a hot topic in several jurisdictions, with defendants strongly arguing that there needs to be an increased level of transparency when it comes to litigation funding.

One of the central tenets of litigation funding is the importance of risk management and analysis not only during case selection, but further down the road when counsel must weigh the benefits and drawbacks of settlement. Whilst law firms bring their significant weight of experience and expertise to bear when evaluating settlement options during dispute resolution, the ability to pinpoint the exact right moment and terms under which to settle is always a challenge.

While the availability of, and access to, litigation funding has been a boon for those seeking access to justice, some industry insiders argue that reforms have not gone far enough, and that more change is needed. One area of interest is recoverability for plaintiff costs, where currently claimants still stand to lose financially in order to cover the costs of the very funding that has allowed them to access justice.

After a triumphant conference in March 2022, LITFINCON is excited to announce its return to The Post Oak Hotel in Houston, in March of 2023. 

A claim against Sony Group was filed on 19 August 2022 in the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). The claim is being brought on behalf of UK-based PlayStation users who have purchased digital games and/or add-on content from the PlayStation Store since 19 August 2016. The claim is being funded by Woodsford, the UK’s leading ESG, access to justice and litigation finance business.

As the litigation funding market continues to grow and evolve, funders are placing a higher value on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. This development raises questions about the connection between ESG and litigation funding, how litigation funders are currently addressing ESG, and what the future of ESG in litigation funding will look like.

The following article will offer answers to those questions and act as a general overview of the state of ESG in litigation funding.

Today, Inc. Magazine revealed that Experity Ventures is # 682 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The list represents a one-of-a-kind look at the most successful companies within the economy’s most dynamic segment—its independent businesses. Microsoft, Facebook, Under Armour, Patagonia, Chobani and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.