header-logo header-logo

27 April 2023 / David Greene
Issue: 8022 / Categories: Opinion , Litigation funding , Regulatory
printer mail-detail

Litigation funding: is the party over?

120679
Is the absence of regulation enjoyed by litigation funders coming to an end? David Greene examines the ever-closer attention of regulators worldwide

Having had a fairly free regulatory ride, outside of self-regulation, thus far (at least outside Australia), litigation funding is coming under ever closer scrutiny—derived perhaps from its success—and faces challenges in its structure and workings that will cause changes and, perhaps for some less robust funds, demise.

Litigation funding has been riding the crest of the litigation wave for some years. In many cases, it has been a happy marriage between providing access to justice and gaining profit from the proceeds. A well-known example is the Post Office sub-postmasters’ litigation that would not have seen the light of day—at least in the dramatic way it did—but for the funding from litigation finance provider Therium. The Post Office fought every issue, and without funding the claimants simply could not have competed. It is likely the full horror of the facts behind that litigation would not have seen

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
back-to-top-scroll