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10 May 2018 / Georgina Squire
Issue: 7792 / Categories: Features , Profession , Costs , Commercial
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A costs conundrum

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Can litigation funding negate a security for costs application, asks Georgina Squire

  • Litigation funding is on the rise and greater scrutiny from the courts has followed.
  • Funders have looked to the support of after the event insurance policies, but these have also been put under the microscope.
  • The ‘Arkin Cap’ is now a significant consideration for third party funders when assessing whether and at what level to provide funding for litigation.

We are all seeing a rise in litigation funding, evidenced recently by the explosion in profits of one significant AIM listed funder, Burford Capital LLC. Burford’s 2017 Annual Report shows income up by 109% to £341m and profit after tax up by 130% to £265m.

However, with this rise in funding, comes greater scrutiny by the courts of the role of funders in litigation and their potential liability to other parties. Recent case law has increased that potential liability. Funders often look to the support of an after the event

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Dual-qualified partner joins as head of commercial property department

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Firm announces appointment of next chair

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

Director joins corporate team from the US

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When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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