New Research: CFOs Are Ready To Help GCs “Recession-Proof” The Legal Budget

New Research: CFOs Are Ready To Help GCs “Recession-Proof” The Legal Budget

NEW YORKJune 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Burford Capital, the leading global finance and investment management firm focused on law, today announced the results of a groundbreaking new survey that asked Chief Financial Officers to share their views on how companies deal with the billions they spend annually on legal disputes. 2019 Managing Legal Risk Report: A Survey of CFOs and Finance Professionals reveals that CFOs see this as an urgent business challenge—especially ahead of a potential recession that will put pressure on companies to use their cash wisely—and that they are eager to partner with General Counsels to embrace innovative new solutions, including legal finance. Christopher BogartBurford’s CEO, said of the research: “As a former GC of a Fortune 20 company, I know that CFOs don’t love legal spending. However, Burford’s research shows that CFOs, particularly at large companies, embrace legal finance as a tool to manage and improve control over legal spending, even more so ahead of a possible recession when it is so important to create certainty around corporate budgets.” He continued: “CFOs intuitively grasp that legal finance is simply corporate finance for law, no different from the financing they use to pay for other corporate costs, and a far better alternative than paying out-of-pocket or abandoning valuable legal assets.” Key findings, based on data from 502 CFOs and senior finance professionals in the US, UK and Canada, include:
  • Companies are losing millions to abandoned claims and unpursued recoveries
    A majority of finance professionals (63.0%) say their companies have abandoned meritorious claims given fears of adversely impacting the bottom line; over three fourths (77.6%) say their companies have unenforced judgments and uncollected awards valued at $10 million or more.
  • A recession will cause legal budgets to shrink and legal finance to grow
    A majority of CFOs and senior finance professionals (66.9%) report that in the event of an economic downturn they would advocate reducing legal budgets; still more (67.3%) say that a recession would make them more likely to advocate using legal finance.
  • CFOs and finance professionals see legal finance as a tool to generate value
    The vast majority of CFOs and finance professionals (94.7%) are likely to recommend legal finance. The most commonly cited reason for using legal finance is to “pursue claims that will bring value to the business.” Finance professionals at companies with over $10 billion in annual revenues say the top benefits of legal finance are “investing in growth/using capital wisely”, “preserving capital for other business priorities”, and “reporting and accounting benefits”.
  • Following growth in the last two years, legal finance looks poised for more
    Nearly two-thirds (65.1%) say their companies are “very likely” to use legal finance in the next two years. This trend is even more pronounced at companies with annual revenues of more than $1 billion (71.4%).
The full 2019 Managing Legal Risk Report: A Survey of CFOs and Finance Professionals is available on Burford’s web site and will be discussed in two upcoming webcasts; see Burford’s event calendar for details. About Burford Capital Burford Capital is a leading global finance and investment management firm focused on law. Its businesses include litigation finance and risk management, asset recovery and a wide range of legal finance and advisory activities. Burford is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, and it works with law firms and clients around the world from its principal offices in New YorkLondonChicagoWashingtonSingapore and Sydney. For more information about Burfordwww.burfordcapital.com.
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New North Litigation Capital Launches, Backed by £50 Million in Senior Secured Financing from Pollen Street Capital

By John Freund |

Pollen Street Capital ("Pollen Street") today announces a new senior secured credit facility of up to £50 million to New North Litigation Capital (“New North”). New North is a commercial litigation finance company and a direct subsidiary of Capital Law, a Cardiff based law firm founded in 2006.

Capital Law has a strong track record in commercial litigation, having closed over 400 claimant cases since 2001 with a 95% win rate. Drawing on its senior leadership and experienced disputes team, Capital Law launched New North to address the underserved small to mid-market segment of commercial litigation market. 

New North will be the only litigation financier in the UK owned and operated by practicing lawyers, bringing their day to day lived experience of handling mid-market litigation into pricing the risk and the funding investment decisions.

Christopher Nott, Founder and CEO of New North commented: “We are pleased to work with Pollen Street on this financing to launch New North Litigation Capital. The funding supports us to bridge a critical gap by funding claims that are often deemed too small by other players in the market. We are excited to work with the Pollen Street team as we create this new kind of litigation funding.”

Connor Marshall-Mckie, Investment Director at Pollen Street, commented:New North addresses an important gap in the litigation funding space, focusing on smaller mid-market commercial litigation. With the significant opportunity available and the deep experience of the leadership team from Capital Law we are excited to partner with the team to support their growth.”

About Pollen Street

Pollen Street is a fast-growing and high-performing private capital asset manager. Established in 2013, the firm has built deep capability across the real estate, financial and business services sectors aligned with mega-trends shaping the future of the industry. Pollen Street manages over €7bn AUM across private equity and credit strategies on behalf of investors including leading public and corporate pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, asset managers, banks, and family offices from around the world. Pollen Street has a team of over 95 professionals.

Burford’s Q2 Profits Surge on New Capital

By John Freund |

Burford Capital has delivered its strongest quarterly performance in two years, buoyed by a swelling pipeline of high-value disputes and a fresh infusion of investor cash.

A press release in PR Newswire reveals that the New York- and London-listed funder more than doubled revenue and profitability in the three months to 30 June 2025. CEO Christopher Bogart credited “very substantial levels of new business” for the uptick, noting that demand for non-recourse financing remains “as strong as we’ve ever seen.”

The stellar quarter follows a lightning-quick, two-day debt offering in July that raised $500 million—capital Burford says will be deployed across a growing roster of commercial litigations, international arbitrations, and asset-recovery campaigns. Management also highlighted significant progress in portfolio rotations, underscoring the firm’s ability to monetise older positions while writing new ones at scale. Investors will get a deeper dive when Burford hosts its earnings call today at 9 a.m. EDT.

Burford’s results arrive amid heightened regulatory chatter in Washington and Westminster, yet the numbers suggest the industry’s largest player is unfazed—for now—by talk of disclosure mandates and tax levies. The firm emphasised that its legal-finance, risk-management and asset-recovery businesses remain uncorrelated to broader markets, a pitch that continues to resonate with pension funds and endowments hunting for alternative yield.

For litigation-finance insiders, Burford’s capital-raising prowess and improving margins could have ripple effects: rival funders may face stiffer competition for marquee cases, while law-firm partners might leverage the firm’s deeper pockets to negotiate richer portfolio deals.

International Legal Finance Association (ILFA) Announces End of Year Gala and Inaugural Legal Finance Awards

By John Freund |

 The International Legal Finance Association is pleased to announce its annual End-of-Year Gala Dinner on November 13, 2025.  The event will take place at The Law Society in London, bringing together leading figures from across the legal finance industry for an evening of celebration and reflection on the year’s achievements.  

The dinner will be accompanied by the inaugural Legal Finance Awards.  The awards are designed to recognize and honor excellence across the legal finance ecosystem. They will spotlight the achievements of funders, law firms, brokers, advisors, and other key contributors to the continued growth and innovation of the industry. Nominations for the awards are now open, with the nomination form available here

“The Gala Dinner is a chance for our members and guests to gather in person and celebrate the progress we've made over the year,” said Rupert Cunningham, Global Director of Growth and Membership Engagement at ILFA. “We are especially excited to launch the Legal Finance Awards, which will shine a light on the outstanding work and impact of professionals across our field.”

Tickets for the Gala are on sale now, with discounted pricing available for ILFA members.  More information can be found here.