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Highlights from the 6th Annual LF Dealmakers Conference

From September 26th-28th, 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.

Wendy Chou, founder of LF Dealmakers, was extremely pleased with the outcome of the event: “For six consecutive years, LF Dealmakers has sold out, a testament to the growing interest and importance of litigation finance in today’s legal landscape. We are immensely proud to have created a platform where the best minds in the litigation finance and legal sectors can come together for powerful connections and productive discussions.”

Day two began with a pair of panels on the overall state of the industry and an insider’s approach to getting the best deal. The latter included a panel of experts, including Fred Fabricant, Managing Partner of Fabricant LLP, Molly Pease, Managing Director of Curiam Capital, and Boris Ziser, Partner at Schulte Roth and Zabel.

The discussion revolved around the following topics:

  • Getting up to speed on funding & insurance products
  • How to fast track diligence and deal with exclusivity
  • Negotiating key terms and spotting red flags
  • Benchmarking numbers & making the waterfall work for you

One interesting point arose on the issue of judgement preservation in the IP space, where Fred Fabricant explained that he hasn’t seen a lot of insurance products in the pre-judgement section. “There are too many uncertainties, and it is very hard to assess the risk in this phase of the case.”  Fabricant is looking forward to insurance products in this phase. “In post-judgement, much easier for insurance to assess the risk, because you’ve eliminated lots of uncertainties.”

Click here for the full recap of this panel discussion.

The featured panel of Day 2 was titled: “The Great Debate: Trust and Transparency in Litigation Finance.” The panel consisted of Nathan Morris, SVP of Legal Reform Advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Legal Reform, Charles Schmerler, Head of Litigation Finance at Pretium Partners, and Maya Steinitz, Professor of Law at Boston University. The panel was moderated by Michael Kelley, Partner at Parker Poe.

This unique panel was structured as a pair of debates (back-to-back), followed by an open forum involving panelists and audience questions. On the topic of ‘what is a litigation funder?’ what perhaps seems like an obvious question sparked a passionate back-and-forth between moderator Michael Kelley and Charles Schmerler over whether entities such as legal defense funds and the Chamber of Commerce should technically be classified as litigation funders. After all, the Chamber accepts donations and then uses its capital to file claims—so would donors to the Chamber be considered litigation funders?

One interesting point came from Schmerler, who noted that causal litigation is different from commercial litigation—especially from a public policy perspective. So conflating them under the semantic of ‘litigation funding’ isn’t as useful, even if they can each be technically classified as litigation funding.

Click here for a full recap of this panel discussion.

Day three offered four panels and three roundtable discussions, followed by a closing reception. One panel focused on opportunities in Mass Torts and ABS, and consisted of Jacob Malherbe, CEO of X Social Media, Sara Papantonio, Partner at Levin Papantonio Rafferty, and Ryan Stephen, Managing Partner of Pine Valley Capital Partners. The panel was moderated by Steve Nober, CEO of Consumer Attorney Marketing Group (CAMG).

The wide-ranging discussion covered the following topics:

  • Who’s doing what in mass torts? How about funding?
  • How funders are evaluating and working with firms
  • Examples of the ABS framework in action & challenges
  • Pre- and post-settlement funding and time to disbursement

One key point for funders to consider, is that as more funders enter the mass torts space, they need to be cognizant of ethical considerations around marketing, PR, claimant communications—all aspects of a case that are unique to class actions and mass torts. Congress is now taking a look at how law firms market to prospective claimants, and should any lawsuits arise, funders will no doubt be corralled into the mix.

Given that, it is critical for funders to mitigate the inherent risks by asking more questions at the outset of case diligence: What kind of advertising is being used, where are the clients coming from, how do I know that the clients are real (ad tracking)?  Funders need to be proactive about managing risk, rather than getting caught on the wrong side of a PR headache.

Click here for a full recap of this panel discussion.

Additional panel discussions covered topics such as successful models of cost and risk sharing, managing IP risk, and a CIO roundtable featuring investors in the space.

In addition to the knowledge-sharing, attendees were able to network with founders, CEOs, C-suite officers, thought leaders and other key stakeholders in the litigation finance space. All of which makes the LF Dealmakers event the ongoing success that it is.

Founder Wendy Chou spoke to the core ethos of the event: “At Dealmakers, we believe that connections and conversations are the keys to progress. At this year’s LF Dealmakers Forum, we were honored to host a number of critical conversations, including a thought-provoking debate on trust and transparency. It was a historic moment as we welcomed a representative from the US Chamber of Commerce to our stage, marking their first-ever appearance at a litigation finance industry event. It speaks to our commitment to open dialogue and advancing important discussions within our community.”

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Pogust Goodhead Targets BHP in £1.3B Conspiracy

International plaintiffs’ firm Pogust Goodhead has opened a fresh front in the marathon litigation over the 2015 Fundão dam collapse, dispatching a pre-action letter that accuses BHP, Vale and their joint-venture Samarco of orchestrating an unlawful plot to sabotage the English proceedings.

Acting through U.S. counsel Orrick, the firm says the miners induced claimants to sign cut-price settlements in Brazil, interfered with existing retainers and weaponised redress programmes run by the Renova Foundation to starve the London group action of participants. Pogust Goodhead pegs its damages at more than £1.3 billion—roughly the fees and uplifts it stands to lose if the 620,000-strong claimant cohort is picked off piecemeal.

An article in Reuters says the firm will argue three causes of action—unlawful means conspiracy, inducement of breach of contract and enforcement of its equitable lien—and blames the defendants’ constitutional challenge in Brazil (ADPF 1178) and the proposed “Repactuação” mega-settlement for the intensified pressure campaign.

The pre-action salvo lands just months after the close of a 13-week liability trial against BHP in London; judgment is due later this year, with a quantum phase already on the docket for 2026. Separately, Vale and BHP confront contempt allegations for allegedly funding satellite litigation to derail municipal claims. Should the new claim proceed, the miners could face parallel exposure not only for compensatory payouts—estimated at up to £36 billion—but also for the law firm’s lost fees and financing costs, which Pogust Goodhead says now exceed $1 billion.

Uncorrelated Capital Debuts With $53M for Litigation Finance

By John Freund |

A new entrant has jumped into the U.S. legal-finance arena.

National Law Review reports that Uncorrelated Capital has closed a $53 million seed round, backed by a private-credit fund and a leading plaintiffs’ law firm. Founder Miles Cole—a two-time tech entrepreneur—says the firm will “invest alongside law firms as partners” rather than lend against fees, aligning incentives to “drive better outcomes for plaintiffs.” The firm has already deployed “tens of millions” across thousands of claims, including high-profile mass-tort dockets such as Camp Lejeune.

Uncorrelated’s thesis is to marry software and data analytics with long-duration capital, targeting “uncorrelated” return streams that behave independently of broader markets. Cole argues that litigation finance remains “underserved by technology” and plans to build proprietary tooling to vet cases, monitor portfolios and streamline reporting. The launch comes as institutional money continues to flow into alternative credit strategies and amid renewed regulatory scrutiny of third-party funding structures on Capitol Hill.

For the legal-funding industry, Uncorrelated’s arrival underscores two trends: first, that smaller, tech-forward managers can still raise meaningful capital despite the dominance of well-funded incumbent players; second, that plaintiff-side firms remain eager for non-recourse capital partners who can shoulder risk without dictating strategy. Whether Uncorrelated’s data-centric model will gain traction—or push incumbents to up their own tech game—bears watching. Future fundraising rounds and case wins will reveal if the firm’s “software-first” pitch delivers outsized returns or simply adds another niche player to an increasingly crowded field.

LFJ Podcast: Stuart Hills and Guy Nielson, Co-Founders of RiverFleet

By John Freund |

In this episode, we sat down with Stuart Hills and Guy Nielson, co-founders of RiverFleet, a consultancy business specialising in the global Legal Finance market.  

RiverFleet works with clients to help navigate the complexities and idiosyncratic characteristics of the Legal Finance market and make the most of the financial opportunities and risk solutions the market has to offer for business and investment. 

RiverFleet has a highly experienced team, with specialist litigation, finance and structuring, and investment and portfolio management expertise.  They offer a broad range of legal finance services tailor-made for a global client base, including investors, litigation finance funds, claimants, corporates, insolvency practitioners and law firms.

Watch the episode below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb1ef7ZhgVw