Ireland's High Court has confirmed that it holds a general power to order the disclosure of third-party litigation funding arrangements, in a ruling that carries particular weight in a jurisdiction where such funding remains largely prohibited.

As reported by the Law Society of Ireland Gazette, the decision came in QPQ Limited v Schute [2026] IEHC 463, an intellectual-property dispute in which the defendant uncovered WhatsApp messages during discovery suggesting that a third party had funded the plaintiff's proceedings and might provide further backing. The defendant sought disclosure of the funding arrangements, arguing it was entitled to know its "true adversary."

Mr Justice Twomey held that the court could order disclosure of third-party funding independent of how that funding came to the court's attention. He drew a distinction between funding provided by parties with an existing interest in the litigation, such as shareholders or creditors, and funding from otherwise unconnected third parties.

"Certain forms of third-party funding of litigation … constitute a tort or crime," the judge observed. "Accordingly, there is a public interest in the exposure of such funding, if it exists."

The ruling underscores the continued restrictiveness of the Irish position, where the torts of maintenance and champerty still limit third-party funding outside a narrow set of exceptions. For non-Irish parties involved in commercial disputes with an Irish dimension, the decision is a reminder that funding arrangements assumed to be confidential elsewhere may be exposed to disclosure, and scrutiny, before the Irish courts.

Institutional investors that have long fueled litigation finance through dedicated funds are increasingly going direct, putting capital straight into law-firm and case portfolios rather than routing it through intermediary funders. The shift lets them trim fees and exert greater control over the legal assets they hold.

As reported by Bloomberg Law, the trend marks one of the more pronounced changes in the market in recent years. "It's one of the clearest shifts in the market over the last couple of years," said Jim Batson, chief investment officer at Siltstone Capital.

For investors, the appeal is straightforward. Direct exposure removes a layer of management fees and gives allocators a closer view of underwriting, case selection, and portfolio construction. It also reflects a maturing asset class in which sophisticated capital is increasingly comfortable evaluating legal risk on its own terms.

The move is not without trade-offs. Intermediary funders bring specialized diligence, origination networks, and risk-management expertise that direct investors must otherwise build in-house. Litigation outcomes remain idiosyncratic and slow to resolve, and concentrated direct positions can magnify the timing and binary risks that diversified funds are designed to smooth.

The development lands amid broader signs of a market in flux, from large arbitration awards to high-profile funder insolvencies. As more capital seeks direct access to legal assets, the balance between funders and the investors who back them may continue to shift, with implications for pricing, transparency, and how litigation risk is ultimately distributed.