IMF Bentham teams with Boies Schiller Flexner to provide US$30M capital and legal representation to parties with Vietnamese cross-border disputes
16 APRIL 2019: Leading international dispute financier, IMF Bentham Limited (ASX:IMF) and renowned global litigation and arbitration firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP (BSF) announce a collaboration to provide up to US$30 million in funding capital for cross-border disputes with a Vietnamese connection. This world-first collaboration combines IMF Bentham’s financial support with BSF’s unmatched legal and Vietnam expertise to benefit foreign investors or Vietnamese businesses in Vietnam-related disputes, including international arbitration or US/UK litigation.
Why Vietnam? Vietnam is poised to become Asia’s next economic powerhouse. It has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and a population approaching 100 million. It is also attracting record foreign investments in major infrastructure, manufacturing, real estate, and energy projects. Leading local businesses are also beginning to expand their operations abroad. When disputes arise, they typically involve multi-national parties and multi-jurisdictional proceedings. These disputes are complex and costly, and they require legal representation with a mix of local, regional and international expertise. Very few international players offer such expertise or the flexible sources of dispute finance that litigation funding offers. Until now. What does the IMF-BSF arrangement mean for clients? Together, IMF and BSF bring the capital and know-how required to pursue complex and high stakes Vietnam related claims. The arrangement brings clients:
- fast and streamlined funding assessment (within 4 weeks)
- legal representation by one of the world’s leading trial and arbitration law firms with unique Vietnam expertise
- risk-free recoveries (neither BSF nor IMF Bentham recover any costs unless the claim is successful)
How will the arrangement work? IMF will fund preliminary investigations into potential claims and also subsidize BSF’s legal fees and external expenses (e.g., expert witnesses) for claims that proceed. Funding arrangements will be tailored for each specific case. IMF’s Chief Investment Officer (Asia), Tom Glasgow, said: “IMF and BSF have had a strong working relationship on funded matters, and our US division successfully funded a matter with Mr Tran that resolved in 2016. Our new arrangement with BSF responds to increasing demand for legal representation in cross-border disputes involving Vietnamese parties and assets. It also reflects the growing appetite for third-party finance as a tool for resolving disputes in Asia.” Luan Tran, Partner at BSF said: “I lead a unique practice which combines the Vietnamese perspective (jurisdictional know-how, local contacts and language) with BSF’s global disputes expertise. I recently lived and worked in Vietnam and Asia and regularly travel for work there. I have an intimate knowledge of the market. This collaboration with IMF allows foreign investors doing business in Vietnam, as well as Vietnamese companies doing business internationally, to pursue cases prosecuted by a leading law firm that previously might have been beyond reach for cost reasons.” Quyen Ta, Partner at BSF said: “I have represented the top companies based in Asia and the United States in their highest-stakes intellectual property, class action, and trade secrets disputes—whether in state or federal courts, or in international arbitrations. Clients appreciate that they can come to BSF for their Southeast Asian disputes, be able to retain experienced trial lawyers like me and Luan who are culturally and linguistically competent, and have access to a reputable litigation funding source.”
ABOUT IMF BENTHAM IMF is one of the leading global litigation funders, headquartered in Australia and with offices in the US, Singapore, Canada, Hong Kong and the UK. IMF has built its reputation as a trusted provider of innovative litigation funding solutions and has established an increasingly diverse portfolio of litigation funding assets.
IMF has a highly experienced litigation funding team overseeing its investments. We have a 90% success rate over 184 completed investments and have recovered over A$1.4 billion for clients since 2001.
ABOUT BOIES SCHILLER FLEXNER
Boies Schiller Flexner is a firm of internationally recognized trial lawyers, crisis managers and strategic advisors known for their creative, aggressive and efficient pursuit of success for the firm’s clients. The firm has an established record of taking on and winning complex, ground-breaking and cross-border matters in diverse circumstances and industries for many of the world’s most sophisticated companies. The firm has 15 offices located throughout the United States and in London. It is also the only AmLaw firm with two Vietnamese-speaking partners with extensive first-chair trial and arbitration experience.
For further information please see Luan Tran, Quyen Ta and Boies Schiller Flexner.
Luan Tran has more than 20 years of experience in international arbitration. He has handled, both as counsel and arbitrator, some of the most significant Vietnam-related international arbitration matters. He co-authored the Vietnam chapter for two major international publications. Prior to BSF, Luan was an international arbitration partner at a prominent Vietnam-based law firm. He was also an early member of the international arbitration practice at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. He is currently a member of the AAA-ICDR’s Council and Asia Advisory Committee.He has three law degrees, including one from Harvard Law School. Quyen Ta co-leads Boies Schiller Flexner’s Bay Area practice. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law and is a highly sought-after trial lawyer who has more than 15 years of experience litigating high-stakes disputes in the United States and in international arbitrations. Her practice has included representing top Asian-based companies, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, in its most sensitive cross-border matters, and which has included litigating jurisdictional issues throughout the United States. Her current clients include top Fortune companies, as well as Asian-based companies such as VNG Corporation (Vietnam) and Rakuten (Japan).
