New research shows GCs seek greater value from legal claims and judgments

New research shows GCs seek greater value from legal claims and judgments

Burford Capital, the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law, today releases new independent research that reveals how businesses are finding solutions to extract greater value from legal claims and judgments, based on a survey of 350 GCs, heads of litigation and senior in-house lawyers in the US, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East.

The economic climate has amplified longstanding pressures on businesses, including legal departments. With research released earlier this year by Burford showing that GCs expect commercial disputes to increase in the next two years, how companies pay for and extract value from their meritorious claims is more important than ever. Burford’s new report on the economics of commercial disputes and enforcement demonstrates a desire by senior in-house lawyers to maximize the value of claims, judgments and unenforced awards, without adding to costs. Notably, 61% of those surveyed say that uncertain or challenging conditions would impact their likeliness to consider legal finance solutions.

Christopher Bogart, CEO of Burford Capital, said: “Companies account for well over fifty percent of Burford’s business today, including very large Fortune 500 global companies. As the former GC of such a company, I am awake to the financial pressures legal departments face, especially in uncertain economic times. The new research confirms GCs’ desire to achieve optimal financial outcomes with their claims, judgments and awards. At Burford, we are strategic partners for businesses seeking to reduce risk and maximize value both through our legal finance offerings and our enforcement and recovery services. More in-house counsel are realizing the innovative ways we can help them avoid leaving money on the table, and the research affirms that.”

Consistent with the growth of its business with leading companies, Burford on a group-wide basis recently entered into a $325 million transaction with a Fortune 500 company to finance a portfolio of matters in its affirmative recovery program, allowing the company to recognize immediate value from those claims.

Key findings from the research include:

Economic pressures impact how clients manage their costs and partners, with the majority of those surveyed likely to seek cost-sharing solutions.

  • Over half (52%) say they are likely to seek cost-sharing solutions with counsel or legal finance providers to mitigate the impact of the current economic climate.
  • Although many say they are likely to implement cost-saving measures to mitigate these impacts (44%), in-house lawyers seem to favor cost-shifting over cost-cutting.
  • Aside from relevant legal expertise, the top attributes in-house lawyers seek in outside counsel are efficiency and speed (89%), the ability to provide accurate budgets (87%) and familiarity with legal finance (69%).

Unenforced awards remain a problem for businesses, and even more so in the current climate.

  • Vanishingly few (2%) say they recovered 100% of the value of their judgments and awards over the last five years and a clear majority (61%) state that their opponents voluntarily pay their outstanding judgments and awards less than 50% of the time.
  • The consequence of slow-to-pay or fail-to-pay judgment debtors is many millions of dollars in lost value to businesses at a time when legal teams wish to minimize costs and maximize recoveries.

Enforceability is a key consideration for litigation and arbitration strategy.

  • Top perceived barriers to enforcement are jurisdiction and cost.
  • More than three quarters (77%) view ease and likelihood of recoverability as important factors in whether to pursue claims.
  • Immediate liquidity is a key benefit for funded enforcement and recovery.
  • More than half (57%) say they are likely to use financed enforcement and recovery services for a pending judgment or award.

The 2023 Commercial Dispute & Enforcement Economics Survey can be downloaded on Burford’s website. The independent research was conducted by GLG in June 2023.

About Burford Capital

Burford Capital is the leading global finance and asset 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 New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUR) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: BUR), and it works with companies and law firms around the world from its offices in New York, London, Chicago, Washington, DC, Singapore, Dubai, Sydney and Hong Kong.

For more information, please visit www.burfordcapital.com.

This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any ordinary shares or other securities of Burford.

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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.