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

By John Freund |
July 30, 2025

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

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:

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John Freund

John Freund

Commercial

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Case Developments Commercial

Legal Funding Targets Charter School Safety Gaps

By John Freund |
Litigation finance is moving into education safety disputes, with backers supporting claims over preventable injuries tied to lapses at charter schools. In the Tracy case, plaintiffs’ counsel has secured outside capital to pursue allegations centered on inadequate safeguards and uneven enforcement, aiming to drive remedial measures alongside damages. An article in Daily Journal states that the Tracy case highlights safety standards failures and enforcement gaps in charter schools, and that litigation funding is being used to sustain legal efforts intended to compel stronger protocols and clearer lines of responsibility. The report notes that financing can help develop the evidentiary record—through inspections, training audits, and expert testimony—necessary to test whether supervision, reporting, and facilities maintenance met applicable requirements. The matter underscores the fragmented oversight of charter operators, where responsibilities can be split among authorizers, management organizations, and campuses, complicating accountability. Backers view the matter as a test of whether targeted civil litigation can close regulatory gaps without waiting for legislative change. For funders, such matters present impact-oriented opportunities but require careful assessment of immunities, policy limits, and the feasibility of non-monetary outcomes. If results in Tracy prove durable, similar models could emerge in other jurisdictions where charter oversight is diffuse.
Case Developments Commercial

Eco Buildings Group Secures Litigation Funding for €195m ICC Claim

By John Freund |

Eco Buildings Group said it has secured full litigation funding from Atticus Litigation Financing for its €195 million arbitration before the International Court of Arbitration arising out of alleged losses tied to actions by government agencies in Kosovo. In the same disclosure, the company confirmed that BSA Law has been retained on a conditional fee arrangement and noted that tribunal nominations are underway.

The announcement identifies Atticus as adviser-backed by industry veteran Nick Rowles-Davies and indicates the fund is scheduled to commence operations in October 2025.

The interim-results RNS, dated September 30, 2025, upgrades the company’s July communication—which described an “offer of full litigation funding”—to a confirmation that funding is now in place, while also updating expected fund timing. Together with the CFA, the package points to a blended financing structure designed to carry the matter through to award.

For funders and counterparties, the key near-term questions are procedural: how quickly the tribunal is fully constituted; whether early case-management orders shed light on timetable, bifurcation, or disclosure; and the degree to which funding terms (to the extent disclosed) signal stamina through potential post-award phases.

From Eco Buildings’ perspective, securing third-party capital at this stage helps ring-fence legal spend and adverse-costs exposure during the most resource-intensive portions of the case. For Atticus, the mandate offers an inaugural high-profile deployment in commercial arbitration, with advisory pedigree that will be familiar to market participants.

Case Developments Commercial

LCM Hit by Adverse UK High Court Ruling in Funded Case

By John Freund |

Litigation Capital Management (LCM) said the High Court in London has delivered judgment against its funded party in a commercial claim, marking a setback for the ASX-listed funder. The investment was co-funded with £9.9m from LCM’s balance sheet and £6.1m from Fund I, and the company reiterated that adverse-costs exposure is backed by after-the-event (ATE) insurance. LCM added that it will confer with counsel on next steps, a process that typically encompasses prospects of appeal, costs issues, or settlement positioning.

In the regulatory notice, LCM set out the key economics of the position and clarified the presence of ATE cover—detail that offers unusual transparency around downside risk management. The co-funding split between the corporate balance sheet and the pooled vehicle means any financial impact is dispersed rather than concentrated in a single pocket of capital.

While ATE insurance is not a profit buffer, it is intended to shoulder the counterparty costs risk that can materialize after an adverse outcome, and it can meaningfully limit cash outflow volatility as the matter moves through post-judgment phases.

The disclosure underscores the familiar dynamics of portfolio funding—wins and losses arrive unevenly, but disciplined structuring (co-funding, ATE, and aligned counsel) is designed to keep drawdowns contained. LFJ will track any developments around appeal decisions, cost orders, or portfolio commentary tied to this case as LCM executes its review with counsel.