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Litigation matters: funds & gains

18 October 2018 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 7813 / Categories: Opinion , Legal services
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Those who disapprove of funders need to appreciate that providing access to justice (albeit at a price) is laudable, says Dominic Regan

Commercial providers of litigation funding have never had it so good. Shares in one provider, Burford Capital, have risen by 50% in value this year. What is going on?

Supporting substantial litigation can be rewarding. A dreadful irony is that the funders can recoup more than the lawyers who actually secure the recovery. Investors are drawn to the rewards of a successfully funded case. The Financial Times on 19 November last year identified a return of up to 300% in some litigation.

An obvious question is why would one relinquish a serious part of damages to a funder? Why not self-fund and retain the entire award? My enquiries threw up some interesting details.

Win-wins & free rides

Mainstream banks are just not interested in funding a claim. Indeed, some banks now regard lawyers as a risky proposition all round. The finance director of a large business in Leeds told me that

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DWF—19 appointments

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Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

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Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

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Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

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Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
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