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Commercial Special Features

Member Spotlight: Blake Trueblood

Blake Trueblood, a seasoned advocate and litigator, brings over eighteen years of experience to the forefront of the litigation finance industry. As co-founder of Invenio LLP, Blake has played a pivotal role in the firm’s dedication to the emerging litigation finance sector. His extensive background includes serving as General Counsel for a group of litigation finance and claims management companies, where he assisted plaintiffs and law firms in various practice areas, from personal injury to mass torts.

Blake’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to co-found and manage a Florida-based law firm, specializing in representing claimants in personal injury, discrimination, and commercial claims. His practice has catered to both individuals and businesses seeking just compensation. Beyond his legal expertise, Blake has earned the trust of entrepreneurs, Native American tribes, and media personalities. His insightful commentary on topics like litigation finance and Tribal economic development has solidified his reputation as a thought leader.

Born in the Midwest and raised in Florida, Blake now splits his time between Washington, D.C., and Fort Lauderdale, where he has a home with his significant other Maria, their daughter Amber,  and his dog Bella, a chihuahua-beagle mix. As an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Blake is deeply connected to Native American culture and its economic development initiatives. In his free time, he’s an avid hiker, runner, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, holding a black belt since 2015, with a second-degree earned in 2021.

Company Name & Description: Invenio LLP is a leading provider of legal services for those navigating the complexities of the litigation finance industry. Our founding partners have extensive experience in claimant funding, law firm lending, and litigation supported by third-party funding. We serve claimants, the law firms who advocate on their behalf, and the lenders and funders that provide the capital necessary to see justice through. Our lawyers bring a wealth of experience to the rapidly evolving litigation finance landscape. We’ve represented both plaintiffs and defendants in litigation, and immersed ourselves in venture start-ups and private equity ventures catering to plaintiffs, law firms, and claims development experts, giving us a unique blend of expertise suited to untangle the complexities of the litigation finance space and find solutions. Invenio is committed to increasing access to civil justice by helping plaintiffs of all types access courts and level the playing field against well-resourced defendants.  We believe litigation finance can be a force multiplier for plaintiffs and the firms that represent them. We aim to make the process of exploring and obtaining litigation finance clear, fair, and straightforward.

Company Website: inveniolaw.com

Year Founded: 2022

Headquarters: Invenio has joint headquarters in Washington, D.C. and Fort Lauderdale.

Area of Focus: Invenio LLP is fully engaged in all aspects of the rapidly emerging litigation finance industry. The firm’s founding partners have each worked on multiple claimant funding and law firm loan transactions and have themselves litigated cases where law firm portfolio funding or third-party case funding was used. Our clients are law firms borrowing for their cases or portfolios, claimants seeking traditional third-party funding, lenders seeking assistance with underwriting and servicing of cases or portfolios of cases, and parties to disputes or workouts. We focus on Case & Portfolio Underwriting; Borrower & Claimant Side Representation; and Pre-Settlement, Post-Settlement & Medical Lien Funding.

Member Quote: “We believe that litigation finance levels the playing field in the fight for access to justice, both for claimants and the attorneys and law firms that represent them on the front lines. Invenio LLP was founded on that principle, and we focus our efforts each day on ensuring that plaintiffs, their advocates, and the investors who fund their efforts get the guidance they need to navigate this complex industry.”

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Case Developments Commercial

CAT Finds in Favour of Professor Andreas Stephan in Amazon Claims

By Harry Moran |

Whilst last week saw a flurry of activity in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) as trials began in multiple collective proceedings, this week has seen the Tribunal hand down a ruling in a carriage dispute between two claims both targeting Amazon for allegations of anticompetitive behaviour.

A press release from Geradin Partners highlights the judgment from the CAT in a carriage dispute, which saw the Tribunal find in favour of Professor Andreas Stephan in collective proceedings being brought against Amazon. The carriage dispute related to the parallel claims brought by Professor Stephan and by the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA), over allegations that Amazon engaged in anticompetitive practices that harmed third-party sellers on the online marketplace. Professor Stephan’s proceedings had instructed Geradin Partners and secured litigation funding from Innsworth, whilst BIRA had instructed Willkie Farr & Gallagher and agreed to funding from Litigation Capital Management (LCM).

In its ruling, the CAT found that whilst BIRA had an advantage in its suitability to act as the class representative, “this was clearly outweighed by the factors which favour Prof Stephan”, which it identified as “the scope of the claims and the expert methodology.” Although the CAT highlighted that the breadth of Professor Stephan’s claims “would no doubt enlarge the scope of a trial and therefore make it more complicated”, the ruling cited case law in emphasising that his claims “more consistent with the goals of access to justice by capturing more viable claims”.

The published judgment also shed light on the details of the funding arrangements in the claims. Professor Stephan’s litigation funding agreement (LFA) with Innsworth committed a maximum of £32.9 million to cover costs and expenses, with an additional commitment “to pay adverse costs of £5 million until the grant or refusal of a CPO and of £20 million thereafter.” As to the returns outlined in the funding agreement, Professor Stephan’s LFA with Innsworth “provides for a total multiple rising from 4 up to 10 (if the recovery is after the commencement of the substantive trial).” The CAT noted that the returns from Professor Stephan’s LFA were higher than for the funder in the BIRA claim, in the conclusion of its examination the Tribunal noted that “the funding arrangements of the two applications are a neutral factor in choosing between them.”

The CAT’s full judgment in the carriage dispute can be read here.

Additional analysis of the CAT’s ruling and its implications for future carriage disputes for funded proceedings can be found in a LinkedIn post from Matthew Lo, director at Exton Advisors.

Commercial People Moves

Ayse Yazir Appointed Managing Director at Bench Walk Advisors

By Harry Moran |

Ayse Yazir has started a new position as Managing Director at Bench Walk Advisors. This latest promotion comes in the seventh year of Yazir’s tenure at the market-leading litigation funder, having joined the firm in 2018 as a Vice President and most recently having served as Global Head of Origination.

In a post on LinkedIn, Yazir reveals that her work at Bench Walk Advisors incorporates a wide range of matters across the litigation funding industry including international and commercial arbitration, insolvency, class actions and global litigation matters as well as law firm and corporate portfolio arrangements and defense funding.

Yazir also expressed her delight at starting the new role and thanked her fellow Bench Walk Advisors’ managing directors Stuart Grant and Adrian Chopin for the opportunity.

Case Developments Commercial

Judge Preska Orders Argentina to Comply with Burford Discovery Request

By Harry Moran |

As we enter yet another year in the story of the $16.1 billion award in the case funded by Burford Capital against the YPF oil and gas company, a US judge has ordered the Argentine government to provide additional information about the country’s financial assets to the funder as part of its efforts to collect on the award.

An article in the Buenos Aires Herald provides an update on the ongoing fight to recover the $16.1 billion award in the YPF lawsuit, as a New York judge ordered Argentina to comply with a discovery request for information around the Argentine Central Bank’s gold reserves. The order handed down by Judge Loretta Preska followed the request made by Burford Capital in October of last year, with the litigation funder citing media reports that Argentina’s Central Bank had moved a portion of its gold reserves overseas.

Lawyers for Argentina’s government had submitted a letter last week arguing against the discovery request on the grounds that the Argentine Republic and Central Bank are legally separate entities, and that any such gold reserves have “special protection from execution under [United States’ Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act] and UK law.” Responding to these arguments in her order, Judge Preska stated plainly that “regardless of whether the gold reserves are held by [the Central Bank], the Republic shall produce its own documents concerning the reserves.”

Judge Preska also ordered the Argentine government to provide additional information concerning its SWIFT data on its overseas accounts and for documents from another lawsuit brought against the Republic, saying that all this information could “lead to other executable assets.”