Asia Disputes Lawyers: Are you pitching litigation finance options to your clients? You should be.

Legal budgets are tighter than ever.  The costs of running a modern-day commercial dispute continue to rise.  Law firms are being asked to give more for less.  Competition is high.  Firms are under-bidding to win work.  Clients are seeking tougher fee structures: heavy discounts to hourly rates, fixed or capped fees, contingencies and uplifts.  Firms offering more flexibility or lower pricing are winning mandates, rightly or wrongly.

I have met with dozens of disputes lawyers in Asia since I launched IMF Bentham’s Asia office in Singapore earlier this year.  This is typical of their feedback across the board.

These issues are not unique to Asia.  The cost pressures on in-house and external legal teams are common on the international stage.  In jurisdictions where local law has allowed it, disputes lawyers have been actively pitching litigation finance as a creative solution to meet budget constraints and help clients manage the costs and risks of their commercial disputes.  Innovative GCs and CFOs are piling in.

Funders, like IMF Bentham, effectively allow businesses to transfer all costs (including the risk of adverse costs awards) to a third-party, while the business retains the bulk of any recovery.  An attractive proposition for many: freeing up legal budgets for important front-end work, alleviating drag on the company’s balance sheet and generally keeping the accountants happy.  The benefits are magnified significantly when applied across a portfolio of disputes. 

Asia is also beginning to embrace litigation finance.  New legislation in Singapore and Hong Kong is paving the way for third-party funding of international arbitration and associated court proceedings, complimenting a judicial willingness to approve funding for insolvency claims and where it facilitates access to justice.  Regional demand is generally increasing: the market is advancing in its understanding of the benefits and this will only grow.

So why not include an offer to discuss litigation financing options in your next pitch?  Present a new proposition: “We are the firm you need to win this case and here is an innovative way we can help you manage the costs and risks of bringing it.”  Your clients will appreciate it.  They will soon expect it.

As pioneers of the concept, IMF Bentham Limited (ASX:IMF) has been funding successful cases longer than any other funder.  Please get in touch to discuss how we can help you and your clients.