The 6th Anniversary of the Peter Thiel / Hulk Hogan / Gawker Case: What Have We Learned?

After four years helping to build CAC Specialty’s contingent risk insurance practice from the ground up, Shai Silverman is departing the firm to join litigation risk insurer Litica as its Head of Underwriting – U.S.
In a LinkedIn post, Silverman reflected on his time at CAC, where he joined in the early days of the firm’s efforts to turn contingent risk insurance into a mainstream product. Alongside colleagues Andrew Mutter, Michael B. Wakefield, and David Barnes, Silverman helped develop insurance solutions for a wide array of legal risks, crafted bespoke products for hundreds of clients, and played a key role in launching the first-ever contingent risk insurance conference.
Silverman now moves to Litica, a UK-headquartered specialist insurer focused on litigation and contingent risks, to lead its U.S. underwriting function. His move signals not just a personal transition but also the growing transatlantic ambitions of insurers operating in this once-niche corner of legal risk.
Silverman’s departure marks a broader inflection point for contingent risk insurance—a sector now poised for significant expansion. As underwriting talent like Silverman shifts into leadership roles at specialist firms, questions emerge around how traditional insurers will respond, and whether contingent risk insurance will continue its trajectory toward becoming a standard risk-transfer tool for litigation and arbitration.
Therium Capital Advisors (TCA) announced today the launch of its independent advisory services business dedicated to helping claimants, law firms and corporates to source, structure and secure litigation finance. TCA offers end-to-end support including funding strategy, investor engagement, financial modelling, deal structuring, ongoing case management and secondary market advisory. Based in London, the firm is advising on deals in the UK, continental Europe and Australia.
Therium Capital Advisors is led by litigation funding pioneer Neil Purslow and co-founded by investment banker Harry Stockdale. Neil has over 16 years of experience in litigation finance, raising capital and investing worldwide across all forms of litigation finance from single cases funding through to portfolio, corporate and law firm funding arrangements. Harry was previously head of UK M&A at investment bank Haitong with twenty years of experience in investment banking, advising law firms and litigation funders on complex financial transactions.
TCA is the first advisory firm to provide clients with advisory services that are backed by a deep understanding of litigation finance investing coupled with the financial and transactional expertise of investment banking. Therium Capital Advisors bridges the gap between claimants, law firms and corporates on the one side and existing and new sources of institutional capital on the other. Through the combined expertise of its founders, TCA opens up the investor universe that is available to clients and drives quality in the investment propositions, efficiency in the funding process and competition in the funding market.
TCA exclusively advises claimants, law firms and corporates, ensuring that it remains conflict-free. The firm advises across the full range of legal assets including single case and portfolio funding, law firm financing, financing options for corporates and existing portfolios of legal assets.
Neil Purslow, co-founder and Managing Partner of Therium Capital Advisors said: “We are at a pivotal moment in the development of the legal finance industry, given the relative paucity of traditional funding capital available. However, we are seeing a shift towards new categories of investors in legal assets who want exposure to this uncorrelated asset class. By leveraging our unrivalled experience across both litigation funding and investment banking, we are assisting our clients to navigate this landscape with confidence, speed and understanding, and we provide them with access to a broader set of funding options and to meet their funding needs efficiently and cost effectively.”
Harry Stockdale, co-founder and Partner of Therium Capital Advisors said: “We are bringing an investment banking mind set to the litigation funding world which has developed largely without the benefit of specialist advisors. This professionalisation of the funding process will make the sector more efficient and accessible to a wider audience of investors in addition to the traditional litigation funders. We are already seeing the benefit of this, for both clients and investors alike, and is part of the maturing of litigation finance as an asset class.”
Therium Capital Advisors provides the following services to claimants, law firms and corporates:
More information can be found at: www.therium.com/theriumcapitaladvisors
As third-party litigation finance scales across commercial disputes, courts and policymakers are weighing whether—and how—to require disclosure of funding arrangements.
An article in Bloomberg Law News states that proponents argue that targeted transparency can illuminate potential conflicts, clarify control over litigation decisions, and help judges manage complex dockets without chilling meritorious claims. Opponents warn that blanket disclosure risks revealing strategy, upending privilege, and inviting harassment of funded plaintiffs. The debate, once theoretical, is increasingly practical as capital providers back high-stakes cases, class actions, and MDLs, and as a patchwork of local rules and standing orders nudges the industry toward more consistent practices.
Litigation funding’s growing influence on case dynamics warrants a disclosure rule, emphasizing that transparency can bolster fairness and the integrity of proceedings. The piece notes recurring flashpoints: who controls settlement decisions, whether funders exert improper influence, how agreements intersect with privilege and work product, and what conflicts might arise for counsel or class representatives. It outlines possible frameworks, from limited, court-facing disclosures at filing to in camera review of funding agreements and sworn certifications about control, veto rights, and fee waterfalls. According to the article, calibrated disclosure—rather than broad, party-to-party exposure—could give judges essential visibility while minimizing competitive harm and discouraging fishing expeditions.
If proposals coalesce around narrow, court-directed disclosures, more districts could codify consistent requirements, reducing uncertainty for funders and litigants. Fund managers may respond by standardizing governance, conflict checks, and documentation to support certifications on control and settlement authority.
For complex litigation—especially MDLs and class actions—measured transparency could improve case management and reduce satellite disputes, while preserving confidentiality that enables financing to continue filling access-to-justice gaps.