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Recap of IMN’s Inaugural International Litigation Finance Forum

IMN’s inaugural International Litigation Finance Forum brought together a crowd of international thought-leaders from across the industry, showcasing perspectives from funders, lawyers, insurers and more across a packed day of content.

Following IMN’s successful New York conference, the London event demonstrated the growing reach and maturity of litigation funding, as topics covered everything from recent industry developments to the nuances of international arbitration and dispute resolution. At the core of the day’s discussion, the central themes of regulation, ESG and insurance were present throughout each session, with unique insights being shared by panelists.

The day began with a panel focused on the current state of litigation funding in Europe, where the topic of regulation took center-stage. Whilst most speakers agreed that the proposed reforms in the recently approved Voss Report were a step in the wrong direction for the industry, Deminor’s Erik Bomans offered a contrarian take on regulation, and highlighted that the very existence of this debate around regulation is a positive sign of the industry being taken seriously.

During the second panel on jurisdictional differences in Europe, this view was echoed by Clémence Lemétais of UGGC Avocats, who stated that it was promising that the EU parliament is raising the visibility of the industry, but that the draft resolution ‘shows a lack of knowledge’ about the industry itself. This was further reinforced in terms of individual country requirements by Koen Rutten of Finch Dispute Resolution, who argued that regulation has to be based on facts, and has to address a problem, which he does not see in the Nethlerlands.

A fireside chat with Rocco Pirozzolo of Harbour Underwriting gave the audience a detailed overview of the impact and evolving nature of ATE insurance on litigation funding. During this interview, Mr Pirozzolo highlighted the difference in approaches between insurers and funders when assessing cases, but further highlighted the need for collaboration between the two to deliver wider access to justice.

Two panels completed a busy morning of discussion, with the first providing insight into the evolving nature of funders’ approach to capitalization, and the second analyzing the best practice for those seeking funding. LCM’s Patrick Moloney honed in on the evolution of the industry having come from a place of being perceived as ‘the dark arts and then loan sharks’ to now being in a position where funders like LCM garner investment from public listing. Later, Ben Moss of Orchard Group, offered a detailed overview of how requests for funding should be best structured and highlighted the ‘holy trinity’ of ‘merits, budget and quantum’.

The afternoon saw a broadening of the range of discussions, kicking off with Tom Goodhead of Pogust Goodhead providing an insightful presentation on group litigation in the UK and the need for future reforms to enable growth. Another two panels brought a wealth of insights, with the topics of co-investing, diversification and the secondary market in the first, being followed by a wide-ranging discussion of the different types and applications of litigation insurance.

After a breakout meeting explored the best practices in talent development and growth for women in litigation finance, a trio of panels capped off the day’s agenda. In a wide-ranging discussion of innovative deal terms and structures, panelists from the likes of Brown Rudnick, Litigation Funding Advisers and Stifel, provided insight into everything from the effect of insurance on pricing to the increasingly technical and data-drive process of due-diligence.

Taking a more global approach for the penultimate panel, Alaco’s Nikos Asimakopoulos, skillfully guided the audience through a global look at enforcements and international arbitration. The panel of legal experts discussed an extensive range of topics, with Tatiana Sainati of Wiley Rein, spotlighting ESG as a primary driver in the increase in transnational disputes and particularly in the EU where ESG initiatives have taken hold.

In the final panel of the day, the topic focused in on the use of litigation funding by corporates and institutional investors. In an illuminating exchange, Woodsford’s Steven Friel played down claims by other funders that CFOs and other corporate executives primarily look to litigation funding for its ability to shift legal costs off the balance book. Instead, Friel and other panelists highlighted the need for funders to bring more than just capital to the table, and that true value could be brought through a funder’s insight, as well as its ability to manage the litigation process and reduce the non-financial resource burden on corporates.

Overall, IMN’s inaugural UK event displayed the incredible depth of the litigation funding industry and gave attendees a wealth of insights that will no doubt generate further discussion and debate among leaders. In a day of packed content, IMN’s roster of speakers and panelists provided both high-level overviews and detailed looks at the nuances of certain industry sub-sectors.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article erroneously attributed the detailed overview of how funding requests should be structured to Rosemary Ioannou of Fortress Investment Group. The remark was made by Ben Moss of Orchard Group.  We regret the error. 

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Community Spotlights

Community Spotlight: Scott Davis, Partner, Klarquist

By John Freund |

Scott focuses on intellectual property litigation, representing clients in courts throughout the U.S. He has had great success both obtaining relief for intellectual property owners and defending suits in a wide range of technical fields in cases involving patent, trade secret, unfair competition, employment agreement, copyright, DMCA, trademark, trade dress, product configuration, and false advertising claims.

Scott has litigated cases involving chemical, mechanical, medical device, internet, software, encryption, computer, clean energy, automotive, apparel, food, agricultural, and pharmaceutical technologies. Representing some of the largest companies in the world as well as smaller businesses and start-ups, he has succeeded for clients such as Adobe, British Airways, Columbia River Knife & Tool, Capsugel, Costco, Danner, DexCom, Intuit, Microsoft, Nightforce, Phibro Animal Health Corporation, SAP, SunModo, and Yelp.

Describing his past success and approach with the Klarquist litigation team, IAM Patent 1000 recently lauded Scott’s ability to assess the best strategies and his talent for understanding and simplifying complex technology, and noted that Scott will “always put your objectives first and act like a part of your team.”

Company Name and Description: Klarquist is a full-service intellectual property (IP) law firm with services including IP counseling, patents, trademarks, copyrights, litigation, and post-grant USPTO proceedings. Because we focus our practice exclusively on intellectual property, our prosecution professionals leverage a thorough understanding of our clients’ cutting-edge technology to an extent not seen in general practice firms. Our technical expertise covers biotechnology, physics and optics, chemistry, electrical and mechanical engineering, software and computer science, plants, and semiconductors.

Klarquist is one of the oldest and largest intellectual property law firms in the Pacific Northwest. For more than 80 years, the firm has provided intellectual property legal services to innovators of all stripes and sizes. The firm has over 60 attorneys and patent agents, more than 90% of whom hold technical degrees and many with doctorates in their respective fields. Klarquist professionals are adept at handling all phases of intellectual property matters, from procurement to transfer to litigation of disputes and post-grant review proceedings. Our roster of clients includes some of the most innovative companies and institutions in the world, from Amazon and Microsoft to the U.S. Government, which chooses Klarquist to procure its patents more than any other firm in the nation. As a full-service intellectual property boutique, Klarquist is uniquely equipped to handle any matter, for any innovator, in virtually every area of modern technology.

Website: www.klarquist.com

Year Founded: 1941

Headquarters: Portland, Oregon

Areas of Interest: Dispute resolution, litigation, and patent post grant proceedings.

Member Quote: "Litigation funding provides a key to unlock access to civil justice."

$170 Million Settlement Approved in Allianz Class Action

By Harry Moran |

A complex Australian class action that emerged through the consolidation of two separate group proceedings has reached a successful conclusion, with the court approving a large settlement and thereby marking a significant win for the litigation funder who backed the case. 

A post on LinkedIn from Balance Legal Capital highlighted the approval of the settlement in the Allianz class action, with the Supreme Court of Victoria approving the A$170 million sum to bring the group proceedings to a close. The class action, which Balance Legal Capital funded, was brought on behalf of over 200,000 Australian customers who purchased a vehicle and were then sold Allianz or Allianz Life “add-on” insurance products by the dealership, alleging that the insurers engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct.

Johnson Winter Slattery (JWS) and Maurice Blackburn Lawyers jointly represented the plaintiffs in the class action. In 2021, the Court had ordered the consolidation of this group proceeding with a similar class action against Allianz, resulting in two representative plaintiffs: Ms Tracy-Ann Fuller and Mr Wilkinson.

The judgment approving the proposed settlement was made today, with the court approving a $30,000 payment to the two plaintiffs. The court also maintained the Group Costs Order (GCO) of 25% of the settlement, with a $42.5 million payment set to be divided between JWS and Maurice Blackburn, with a further sum of up to $4.72 million allocated to Maurice Blackburn for the administering of the settlement distribution scheme. 

On the costs incurred by the law firms, Justice Matthews wrote that they were, “satisfied that the costs are reasonable and proportionate to the issues in dispute and the overall amount in dispute.” The judge went on to highlight that the class action “was a very large and complex proceeding and it is unsurprising that the costs are substantial.”

The full judgment and settlement approval orders can be read here. More information about the case can be found on the Allianz Class Action website.

Judge Halves Funder’s Legal Costs in Mastercard Case

By Harry Moran |

The dispute between Walter Merricks and Innsworth Capital in the Mastercard claim has been one of the most visible examples of a rift between a class representative and litigation funder. 

An article in The Law Society Gazette provides an update on the ongoing fallout from the settlement in the Mastercard litigation, as the acting president of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has described the funder’s legal costs of over £52,000 as “wholly disproportionate and unreasonable”. These comments came in a ruling on costs that Mr Justice Roth had ordered the class representative to pay, relating to the funder’s legal costs for responding to Mr Merricks’ application for a court order (‘Documents Application) that would have prevented the funder from using confidential documents in its intervention.

In his assessment of Innsworth’s submissions on costs, the judge accepted that the funder’s need to oppose the Documents Application was “critical to its ability to participate effectively in opposing the CSAO Application” and went on to say that he had “no criticism of the time spent by the solicitors.” However, Justice Roth did highlight the decision to instruct “both leading and junior counsel to advise on the response” and the fact that in this matter, “Akin Gump is charging at well over double, and in the case of the Grade B solicitor almost three times, the London 1 Guideline Rates.”

The ruling goes on to note that whilst Innsworth “may choose to agree with its solicitors to pay a much higher rate of fees”, it does not automatically follow “that costs incurred at those rates are recoverable from the other side”. Determining the final costs, Justice Roth settled on a reduction of the solicitors’ fees down from £26,355.50 to £12,000, and similarly reduced the counsel fees to £10,000, which he still described as “generous”. As a result, the final sum for Innsworth’s costs was set at £22,000.

The full ruling from Mr Justice Roth can be read here.