Last week, Brown Rudnick hosted its third annual European Litigation Funding Conference, proving once again to be one of the premier gatherings of industry thought leaders and executives. The one-day event featured an agenda full of insightful discussions, as senior representatives from funders, law firms, insurers, and other industry firms, all provided their perspectives on the most pressing issues facing the European funding market. The conference served as a reminder of the growing interest in litigation finance, as the venue was packed with attendees and without an empty seat in sight at the start of proceedings.

The following article was contributed by Jeff Manley, Chief Operating Officer of Armadillo Litigation Funding. 

In the competitive landscape of litigation, the strategic use of litigation financing has become a vital tool for law firms to manage cash flow, mitigate risk, and level the playing field. However, the infusion of external capital into the legal process brings forth intricate ethical considerations, particularly concerning client confidentiality.

On February 8th, 2024, Litigation Finance Journal hosted a special digital event titled ‘Litigation Finance: What to Expect in 2024.’  The event featured Gian Kull, Senior Portfolio Manager at Omni Bridgeway, David Gallagher, Co-Founder of LitFund, Justin Brass, Co-CEO and Managing Director of JBSL, and Michael German, Co-Founder and CIO at Lex Ferenda. The event was moderated by Peter Petyt, founder of 4 Rivers.

The following is an article contributed by Ed Truant, founder of Slingshot Capital,

Executive Summary

• Gross v. Net return dispersion needs to be considered by investors & fund managers
• While present in many private equity classes, managers that can limit dispersion can attract more capital for a given return profile
• Wide dispersion prevents many institutional investors from considering investing in the asset class

The following is the second of a two-part series (Part 1 can be found here), contributed by Ed Truant, founder of Slingshot Capital,

Executive Summary

• Duration risk is one of the top risks in litigation finance
• Duration is impossible to determine, even for litigation experts
• Risk management tools are available and investors should make themselves aware of the tools and their costs prior to making their first investment
• Diversification is critical in litigation finance

The following article was contributed by Peter Petyt, CEO of 4 Rivers Services, a third-party funding advisory and legal project management firm.  

Peter is undertaking part-time doctoral research at the University of Westminster in London to explore how law firms can ensure that they are suitable for portfolio funding and how can funders best evaluate which law firms to support. In his thesis, he will be examining the different ethical and regulatory challenges in various jurisdictions and analyzing the characteristics of legal case types which make them suitable or unsuitable for inclusion in a funded portfolio. The research will complement the existing 4 Rivers know-how which has been developed to help law firms and claimants secure third-party funding.

The following article was contributed by Peter Petyt, CEO of 4 Rivers Services, a third-party funding advisory and legal project management firm.  

Peter is undertaking part-time doctoral research at the University of Westminster in London to explore how law firms can ensure that they are suitable for portfolio funding and how can funders best evaluate which law firms to support. In his thesis, he will be examining the different ethical and regulatory challenges in various jurisdictions and analyzing the characteristics of legal case types which make them suitable or unsuitable for inclusion in a funded portfolio. The research will complement the existing 4 Rivers know-how which has been developed to help law firms and claimants secure third-party funding.

Robert Martorana is a NYS licensed attorney who has 10 years of experience in the litigation finance industry.  Rob worked for Burford Capital and Stifel prior to launching REMO Litigation Finance in January of 2023.

Maros founded LitFin in 2018 after spending several years as a business director of a successful property development company in Manchester, the United Kingdom. As LitFin’s managing partner, Maros handles its day-to-day activities, business strategy and investments. Lately, his primary focus revolves around LitFin SICAV, a recently established fully-regulated fund, perhaps the first of its kind within the EU area focused on the litigation finance industry.

Aon is a global insurance brokerage and professional services firm with approximately 50,000 employees across 120 countries that offers a wide array of risk mitigation products and structured solutions.  Aon’s Litigation Risk Group focuses on de-risking adverse outcomes in active and potential future litigation for corporate, private equity, hedge fund, law firm, and litigation finance clients through the use of insurance.

On October 19th, IMN hosted its second Annual International Litigation Finance Forum in London, bringing together thought leaders from across the litigation finance industry and showcasing perspectives from funders, lawyers, insurers and more across a packed day of content.

As the Co-Founder and CEO of DealBridge.ai, Jon Burlinson has over 25 years of experience in information management, software engineering, and technical management. He is passionate about delivering advanced SaaS solutions that leverage AI and data analytics to automate tasks, optimize decision-making, and provide valuable insights, ultimately enhancing efficiency and driving better deal outcomes.

Susanna Taylor is Head of Investments – APAC, for Litigation Capital Management (LCM). Susanna leads LCM’s team of Investment Managers in Australia and Singapore and is responsible for overseeing the sourcing, due diligence and management of LCM’s investment activities across the APAC region.

Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer at DealBridge.ai. Prior to founding DealBridge.ai, he led various data, technology, and product initiatives at some of the largest financial institutions and a category-defining FinTech: JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock, and iCapital. He has spent the past 15 years devising technical & business solutions across manufacturing, life sciences, and financial services. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University.

From September 26^th-28^th, LF Dealmakers hosted its sixth annual event in New York City. The three-day conference kicked off with a workshop on navigating the Mass Torts landscape, and an opening reception at the James Hotel. Days two and three featured panel discussions and networking opportunities between key stakeholders in the litigation finance space.

Jonathan Stroud is General Counsel at Unified Patents, LLC, where he manages a growing team of talented, diverse attorneys and oversees a docket of administrative challenges, appeals, licensing, pooling, and district court work in addition to trademark, copyright, administrative, amicus, policy, marketing, and corporate matters.

Funding is required for a claim involving a concession held by a state-of-the-art industrial facility utilizing leading technologies to recycle used tires into rubber raw material, rubber compound, and value-added rubber end products. The concession agreement is between the plaintiff and a quasi-governmental entity in the GCC region. The claim is likely to be the subject of an ICC arbitration.

The following is a contributed piece by Ed Truant, founder of Slingshot Capital, Part 1 of this 2-part series can be found here. 

The following is a contributed piece by Ed Truant, founder of Slingshot Capital,

Executive Summary

• EDLC Investing is a relatively new, niche market requiring highly specialized skills
• EDLC has many advantages over CLF investing, although it is not a directly comparable investment strategy due to its application to publicly traded markets
• EDLC investing requires investors to have more of a buy/hold mentality than a ‘trader’ mentality due to the ‘fundamental’ risk being assumed
• Despite EDLC ‘events’ being non-correlated, the publicly listed security aspects of their portfolios add some level of correlation which will impact fund performance, both positively and negatively

Litigation Finance Journal is well-regarded as the leading publication covering the global legal funding sector, but what is perhaps less-well known is that LFJ also serves as a digital hub for industry stakeholders to connect, via our informal introductory services. A recent example illustrates the impact that LFJs access to the global funding community can have, as Brazilian attorney and activist Daniel Cavalcante leveraged our introductory services to raise funding for a claim on behalf of Indigenous communities in the Amazon. 

Wednesday, August 9th, LFJ hosted a panel of UK-based litigation funding experts who discussed the recent UK Supreme Court decision, and the potential impacts on the funding industry. The expert panel included: Nick Rowles-Davies (NRD), Founder of Lexolent, Neil Johnstone (NJ), Barrister at King’s Bench Chambers, and Tets Ishikawa (TI), Managing Director at LionFish. The panel was moderated by Peter Petyt (PP), Founder and CEO of 4 Rivers Services.

Earlier this week, the UK Supreme Court handed down a long-awaited judgement that many believe will have a significant impact on the short-term future of the UK litigation funding market. The ruling in the case of R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) (Appellants) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others (Respondents) held that litigation funding agreements (LFAs), where the funder’s remuneration is based on a percentage of the recovered damages, should be classified as damages-based agreements (DBAs).

The following article was contributed by John Hanley, Partner at Rimon Law, and Ryan Schultz, Vice President of Business Development for Woodsford Litigation Funding.

Third-party litigation funding (“TPLF”) involves financing of expenses incurred in a lawsuit (for example, expert fees and usually some portion of legal fees incurred) in exchange for a share of the final judgment or settlement. The funding is typically non-recourse (i.e., the amounts funded need not be repaid if the lawsuit is unsuccessful) and is often repaid through a financial interest in the attorneys’ fees realized by the law firm if the case is successful. These arrangements have become common in the marketplace: in 2022, $3.2 billion in capital was committed for new TPLF; 61% of that capital was deployed to law firms as opposed to clients and claimants; and 28% of the funding recipients were members of the Am Law 200.¹

The following article was contributed by Julia DiCristofaro, program administrator at The Milestone Foundation.

“I have a good client who is in need of pre-settlement funding, which I almost always advise against. But she is desperate, and this case will settle soon. Do you think you can help?”

“The emergence of legal insurance products has been a game changer in allowing both clients and law firms to lock in judgments, ring fence potentially deleterious outcomes, and provide for certainty where uncertainty used to be the rule.”

– Ross Weiner, Legal Director at Certum Group 

On Wednesday, June 7th, IMN hosted its 5th annual Financing, Structuring and Investing in Litigation Finance conference. LFJ attended the event and covered various panel discussions on topics ranging from key trends and developments, ESG initiatives and insurance products. Below are some key takeaways from the event.