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Key Takeaways from the LFJ Podcast with Mani Walia of Siltstone Capital

February 3, 2022

Key Takeaways from the LFJ Podcast with Mani Walia of Siltstone Capital

On the latest episode of the LFJ Podcast, we spoke with Mani Walia, Managing Director, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer and Siltstone Capital. Siltstone is a Houston-based alternative investment firm that invests in litigation finance claims, focusing on $500,000 to $5 million funding requests. Siltstone is also producing LitFinCon, the inaugural litigation finance conference in the Houston area, set to take place on March 2nd and 3rd of 2022. Below are some key takeaways from the discussion: Re: Siltstone’s focus areas Siltstone was founded nearly ten years ago in 2013 by a group of entrepreneurial, energy focused investors. Our team being entrepreneurial, was able to recruit folks with a very interesting set of backgrounds—not just energy sophistication on the nitty gritty of energy assets, but a legal team that understood that there might be value in claims. Through the course of our energy work, we discovered that there may be times that we have to evaluate cases and see if there is any merit to a potential case. And that’s where my addition to the team was something that shaped how we look at things. I have a litigation background and am honored to have learned how to case pick from one of the premiere litigation firms in the country. We had the impetus to start a litigation finance fund focused on energy because of the unique skills set that our team displays. So these two strategies are distinct, they have different bases and stakeholders—but there’s overlap. Re: Limited Partners and Structuring of Funds I’ll note that our funds are separate, so we have a set of funds that are tailored to the energy investor, and then a separate set of funds for those who might want exposure to litigation finance. We’re proud to have successfully closed our second such litigation finance fund in December of last year, 2021. Some folks want a little exposure in both areas, in particular because of the uniqueness of our team—the energy expertise and the focusing on finding value in energy litigation. Re: Types of Claims: Jurisdiction, Single case v Portfolio, Sizes? First, we’re really proud to have entered into a very collegial space. Most of the litigation finance brethren that we have have helped pave the way for entities like us. We’re guided by our experience, so we enjoy a laser-like focus with helping provide solutions only in the commercial context. We haven’t ventured outside into consumer finance or injury cases. We also, for the same reasons, enjoy funding patent infringement cases. Earlier in my career, I tried patent infringement cases and by actively litigating a case or subject matter you really develop the ability to understand what makes a case meritorious or advantageous or what makes the case not good. So those are the two sub-focuses in our commercial lending. We enjoy looking at single case risk or portfolio funding. Q: On ESG Investing & Access to Justice At the end of the day, the job of a funder is to make sure there’s access to justice for somebody who thinks he or she should have a day in court. Embedded in that is an inherent ESG leveling-the-playing-field thought process. Learn more about Siltstone’s upcoming event, LitFinCon (the inaugural litigation finance conference in the Houston area), here.

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Commercial

UK’s Global Rivals Capitalize as PACCAR Funding Reform Stalls

By John Freund |

The United Kingdom's long-promised overhaul of litigation funding regulation has stalled again, and rival jurisdictions are moving to capture the investment that uncertainty is pushing offshore. Nearly three years after the Supreme Court's 2023 decision in *PACCAR* rendered most litigation funding agreements unenforceable by treating them as damages-based agreements, the government has yet to deliver the corrective legislation it pledged.

As reported by The Times, the continued delay is undermining the competitiveness of England and Wales as a global hub for commercial litigation and arbitration. The Ministry of Justice announced in December 2025 that it intended to clarify that litigation funding agreements are not damages-based agreements, with legislation to follow "when parliamentary time allows." But the 2026 King's Speech omitted any litigation funding bill from the legislative programme, leaving funders and claimants without the statutory certainty they had been promised.

Industry participants have voiced deep disappointment, warning that the absence of reform creates an opening for offshore centers that have already implemented clearer rules on funder involvement. While those jurisdictions compete for capital, the UK continues to develop its framework largely through case law, with little appetite for comprehensive statutory change.

The practical effect, observers note, is that funders weighing where to deploy capital may increasingly look beyond London. For a market that has long marketed itself as the world's premier venue for high-value disputes, the prolonged *PACCAR* limbo carries real economic stakes.

Commercial

New York Ruling Opens Litigation Funding to Discovery in Fraud-Tainted Injury Suits

By John Freund |

A New York appellate ruling, paired with the state's newly enacted consumer litigation funding law, is giving defendants fresh tools to scrutinize the financing behind personal-injury claims they suspect are fraudulent. Together, the developments mark a notable shift toward transparency in a market that has historically operated outside the view of courts and opposing parties.

As reported by Law360, the Appellate Division, First Department, held in *Lituma v. Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages LLC* that defendants may obtain discovery into a plaintiff's third-party litigation funding where they present evidence suggesting the underlying claims arose from systemic fraud. The November 2025 decision was the first time the court affirmed an order compelling a personal-injury plaintiff to produce funding-related discovery, vacating the note of issue to allow further inquiry.

The ruling lands alongside New York's Consumer Litigation Funding Act, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul on December 19, 2025, and effective 180 days later. The law caps a funder's recovery at 25% of a case's gross proceeds, requires plain disclosure of all charges and cumulative repayment amounts, and gives consumers a 10-business-day right to cancel without penalty. Attorneys are barred from accepting referral fees or holding financial interests in funding companies.

Notably, the statute stops short of mandating disclosure of funding arrangements during active litigation. For now, defendants seeking to expose questionable financing must rely on rulings like *Lituma* to pry those agreements into the open.

Commercial

Burford Capital Asks Supreme Court to Reverse Third Circuit Arbitration Ruling

By John Freund |

Burford Capital has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Third Circuit decision that dismissed, on jurisdictional grounds, the litigation funder's bid to arbitrate a dispute tied to German antitrust litigation. Burford contends the appeals court committed what it called a "fundamental error" in concluding that federal courts lacked authority over the matter.

As reported by Law360, Burford told the justices on June 16 that the Court's own decision earlier this year in Jules v. Andre Balazs Properties is reason enough to undo the Third Circuit's ruling. In Jules, the Court held that a federal court which compels arbitration of federal claims under Section 4 of the Federal Arbitration Act retains subject-matter jurisdiction to confirm or vacate the resulting award, even without an independent basis for federal jurisdiction over the post-award proceeding.

Burford argues that principle squarely governs its case, and that the appeals court's contrary conclusion cannot stand in light of the new precedent. The funder is asking the justices to take up the matter and correct what it describes as a clear jurisdictional misstep.

The stakes extend beyond a single dispute. For funders, the ability to confirm and enforce arbitral awards in federal court is central to monetizing cross-border claims, and a jurisdictional dead-end at the enforcement stage raises both cost and risk. A decision to hear the case could bring welcome clarity for funders pursuing international, arbitration-related recoveries.