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12 May 2017 / Neil Purslow
Issue: 7745 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Taking root

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Litigation finance is going from strength to strength in the UK & globally, says Neil Purslow

Four years on from Lord Justice Jackson’s reforms, there is no doubt that litigation funding, or litigation finance as it is becoming increasingly known, is now mainstream in the UK.

Therium’s data show that for 75% of litigation partners at UK law firms funding is central to their discussions with clients. That trend is reflected by recent research from law firm RPC which highlighted that 2016 saw a 25% increase in litigation funding in the UK over 2015’s level, with the leading sector players investing £723m in legal claims versus £575m in 2015.

Key driver

The key driver behind the momentum in the litigation finance market has been the growing recognition that third party funding eradicates the costs and associated risk issues of litigating for claimants because the funder assumes all of the financial cost, including the other side’s if the case is lost—and is only paid if the claim wins. Unsurprisingly, this is very attractive to potential claimants, given

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NEWS

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Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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