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Day 1 Preview of the LF Dealmakers Conference

Wednesday, September 28th 2022 is Day 1 of the 5th 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.

Day 1 is packed with content, including six panel discussions and a keynote address. The initial panel, “The State of Legal Finance: Key Developments in a Maturing Industry” will feature Ted Farrell, founder of Litigation Funding Advisors as moderator of a panel including LF professionals from Yieldstreet, Invictus, Aon and Longford Capital. As the name suggests, the discussion will revolve around key trends and developments in the sector, including new players, product innovations, the evolution of a secondaries market, and more.

Other notable Day 1 panels include “The Disclosure Debate: Transparency vs. Confidentiality,” “Insurance and Litigation Finance in Action: A Case Study Exploration,” and “CIO Roundtable: Art of the Deal from Terms to Returns.” The final panel of the day is a sector spotlight on the rise of funding in Mass Torts litigation, which promises to offer a deep dive discussion on the benefits, drawbacks, ethical considerations and future prospects for this area of litigation funding.

Day 1 rounds out with a keynote address, which will take the form of an interview between Validity Finance founder and CEO Ralph Sutton, and NY Times best-selling author and civil rights lawyer Qian Julie Wang. Ms. Wang’s mission is to confront and dismantle systemic barriers for underprivileged communities, which she believes can be supported through the type of legal representation typically reserved for wealthier clients. Her memoir, Beautiful Country, will be gifted to all attendees of the conference.

For more on the Day 1 agenda for LF Dealmakers, including information on how you can attend virtually, click this link.

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Commercial People Moves

Fieldfisher Taps Jackson-Grant as Pricing Chief

By John Freund |

Fieldfisher has recruited litigation-funding specialist Verity Jackson-Grant to the newly created post of Head of Commercial Pricing, underscoring the firm’s intent to capitalize on sophisticated fee and finance structures in the wake of last year’s PACCAR fallout. Jackson-Grant, best known for translating third-party capital into user-friendly products for corporate clients, will sit within the firm’s European finance team and manage a multi-office pricing unit.

An update on LinkedIn confirms her appointment, noting that she will “drive and shape” Fieldfisher’s pricing strategy across the continent. The role’s blueprint calls for rolling out “creative pricing models” that enhance client profitability and embed alternative fee arrangements into disputes workflows.

Jackson-Grant brings a rare blend of funding fluency and law-firm know-how. A former director at TheJudge, she brokered litigation-finance and ATE insurance packages before moving in-house to develop alternative pricing frameworks for major UK and US practices.

Commercial Regulatory Issues

Chubb & Marsh Chiefs Turn Heat on Litigation Funders

By John Freund |

The insurance industry’s long-simmering feud with third-party litigation finance boiled over on Monday.

In an article originally posted in the Wall Street Journal and covered in Insurance Business America, Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg and Marsh McLennan counterpart John Doyle deliver a joint broadside against what they dub the “litigation investment industry.” The duo argue that multi-billion-dollar capital inflows from hedge funds and foreign investors are fueling a 52% year-on-year jump in “nuclear verdicts,” pushing the average blockbuster award to US $51 million.

The duo's ire is heightened by Congress’ failure to preserve a 40.8% surtax on funder income that was stripped from President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” during reconciliation. Without tax parity, they warn, funders can pay 0 % capital-gains rates while plaintiffs shoulder income-tax burdens of up to 37%.

The executives cite data showing 135 verdicts above US $10 million in 2024 and estimate tort costs at US $529 billion—figures they link directly to opaque funding arrangements. Chubb, they reveal, is reviewing counterparties to sever any ties with litigation financiers, while Marsh has already refused to place insurance that facilitates funding.

Funders are already responding to the pair's remarks. William Marra, Director at Certum Group, wrote on LinkedIn: "Funders and their allies need to prepare for the policy debates ahead, because misguided proposals to kill funding may continue." Marra then highlighted proactive education, rapid response, success stories and coalition building as four strategies that funders should consider moving forward.

Commercial Fundraising

Burford Capital Clinches US $500 Million Bond Upsize

By John Freund |

Burford Capital has once again reminded the debt markets that litigation finance is anything but niche.

An article in PR Newswire reports that the New York- and London-listed funder upsized its private offering of senior notes from an initial $400 million to $500 million after books closed multiple times oversubscribed. The eight-year paper priced at 7.5 %, Burford’s tightest spread over Treasuries to date, and will refinance $180 million in 6.125 % notes maturing this August while extending the weighted-average life of the balance sheet to 2033.

According to Burford CEO Christopher Bogart: "We're very pleased with the results of this latest debt offering, which added a half-billion dollars in capital, building on our momentum and strengthening our position to achieve our growth targets."

For investors, the transaction offers two signals: first, that the firm’s cash-realisation cycle—driven by landmark wins such as Petersen—continues to convert headline judgments into distributable cash; and second, that fixed-income desks are increasingly comfortable underwriting the risk profile of litigation finance even in a high-rate environment.