Blog

IMF Bentham is delighted to welcome Arvindran Manoosegaran to our expanding global team as an Associate Investment Manager, based in our Singapore office.

IMF Bentham is funding a second class-action to recover GST paid by buyers of new residential units in certain developments in the ACT. The action has been commenced in the Federal Court in NSW against entities associated with the Morris Property Group and Doma Group in joint venture. The plaintiffs claim that GST was incorrectly charged on apartments in the “Governor Place” development, in Barton ACT.

IMF Bentham is delighted to be co-hosting a National Class Actions Conference with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) on Tuesday, 25 September. The Conference is to be held in Melbourne and will focus on current issues in Class Actions, including access to justice.

Recent research by the Association of Corporate Counsel in Australia found that dispute resolution work was the second most significant area of legal work performed by in-house counsel. However, many companies do not have a specialist litigator in their in-house legal team. The article therefore provides some tips for in-house lawyers who are not frequent litigators on how to manage disputes and conduct the litigation process more efficiently.

IMF Bentham’s Investment Manager (Asia), Tom Glasgow, will be one of the speakers at a webinar on 11 September titled: Third Party Funding in Disputes: Viable Option in India? The webinar will examine topics including the legal position in relation to third-party funding in India, global best practices, the possibility of early settlement in funded cases and the steps to secure a third-party funder.

The 2017 legislative changes in Singapore and Hong Kong permitting third-party funding in certain dispute resolution proceedings has led to funding opportunities for those involved in international arbitration matters and related proceedings. Tom Glasgow and Cheng-Yee Khong discuss this new environment in the latest issue of Asian-mena Counsel, a magazine for the in-house community featuring a special dispute resolution report.

IMF Bentham, in conjunction with a leading law firm, is funding a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner on behalf of Australian Facebook users in respect of the alleged breach. The case presents an opportunity to enforce citizens’ privacy rights and prevent the misuse of their personal data. To sign up for this class action, you can register here before July 31st.

The claim that Australia is the most likely jurisdiction outside the US where a company will face class action litigation dates from at least 2006. Since then, it has become a common refrain from some quarters of the Australian legal and business community. Professor Vince Morabito of Monash University has recently published a report seeking to test this claim.

In an article published today at Lawyerly.com.au, IMF Bentham's Kate Hurford sets out five key facts about litigation funding for litigators or in-house counsel handling commercial disputes who may be unsure about funding, and a brief summary of the funding process.

On 19 June 2018, the Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) published its report on litigation funding and group proceedings. IMF Bentham Limited is concerned that some of the recommendations will merely result in more class actions being brought in the Victorian State Supreme Court and may encourage more competing class actions filed in different courts.

On 16 November 2018, Clive Bowman will chair an informative panel session on Class Actions with leading members of the legal profession at the 2018 National Conference of the Australian Bar Association & NSW Bar Association, “rise2018 - relevant / resilient / respected”.

This premier arbitration event will take place in Melbourne on 17 October 2018.

IMF Bentham is proud to sponsor an informative session at the Centre for Investment Education’s (CIE) Annual ‘Chairs & CEOs Symposium', taking place in Canberra, ACT on 16 August 2018.

Across Australia, IMF Bentham has participated in the Governance and Risk Management Forum 2018 panel discussions on insights into Directors & Officers insurance, changing market conditions, continuous disclosure, securities class actions and how the Australian D&O insurance market impacts the boardroom.

It can be a daunting task to decide to make the first call to a funder. We recommend following these three steps.

This week, IMF Bentham’s US operations received top-tier recognition from Chambers and Partners, which selected us as one of only two “Band One” litigation funding companies in the United States.

At two class action conferences held in Melbourne and Sydney last week, ALRC chair Justice Sarah Derrington announced some of the Australian Law Reform Commission’s preliminary ideas. The formal submission stage will take place in June / July before the final report is submitted in December 2018.

IMF Bentham and Slater and Gordon have opened registrations for a class action against Murray Goulburn on behalf of Unitholders.

What are competing class actions? How are the Courts managing them? What are the potential solutions? These were just some of the questions addressed by an expert panel chaired by IMF Bentham’s Clive Bowman.

Investment Managers at IMF Bentham are required to wear many different hats – investigators, financiers, project managers – but it is not often we are asked to display our acting skills.