Blog

This esteemed panel discusses various issues and topics that often arise when contemplating the subject and use of litigation funding.

Minnesota, recently doubled down on its funding prohibition when it rejected an attempt to circumvent the state’s common-law rule against champerty through contract.

For an in-depth discussion of the Northern District of California's recent modification of its global standing order requiring disclosure of litigation funders in class actions, check out Matt Harrison and Priya Pai's op-ed, published in Law 360.

Insolvency professionals have obligations to do all they reasonably can to increase the assets available for distribution to creditors and as IMF Bentham Senior Investment Manager, Susanna Khouri, explains, there are a number of solutions to assist practitioners to manage the financial risks of litigation.

The UK recently determined there was no need to introduce statutory regulations on litigation funders as it found its current voluntary system was sufficient. Similarly, the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Northern District of California considered revising LR 3-15 to require automatic disclosure of funders, but instead, streamlined disclosure to proposed class action lawsuits only.

This week Bentham IMF announced the opening of its tenth office, in Houston, Texas. Houston is one of the busiest litigation centres in the U.S., and benefits from Texans’ entrepreneurial approach to business.

IMF Bentham Investment Manager, Nathan Landis, details the information a Litigation Funder will look at when assessing a potential claim for funding.

Bentham IMF taps Eric Chenoweth, longtime litigation partner of top-ten trial boutique Yetter Coleman to head new office; Company sees substantial commercial funding opportunities across Texas’ vibrant litigation market.

Over the last several years, Bentham IMF has found that companies are increasingly interested in exploring litigation funding to help manage their legal spend and the risk associated with litigation.

On 13 February 2017 IMF announced one of the most significant deals for the company, with the launch of a US$200 million litigation investment funding vehicle (“the Fund”).

Funding can bridge the gap with a hybrid approach that helps a company reduce its litigation outlay while allowing a firm to take a more measured risk.

Partnering with a funder can also provide a litigation trust with greater confidence about the viability of its claims.

On 1 January 2017, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) introduced the first edition of its Investment Arbitration Rules. Amongst the innovations, the Rules recognise that Third Party Funding (TPF) arrangements exist and confirm that Tribunals have the power to obtain information concerning such arrangements. In this post, Susanna Khouri, Oliver Gayner and Nathan Landis of IMF Bentham share their perspectives on the developments.

The benefits of using a litigation funder's money, and not your own, to pursue a meritorious claim.

In recent years, the legal industry has seen a dramatic increase in demand for alternative fee arrangements (AFAs).

Whilst 2016 was a somewhat discombobulating year across the globe, it was also a year of new beginnings, terrific opportunity and achievement.

Vaughn Walker, retired Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and a member of Bentham’s Investment Committee, sat with ALM’s Ben Hancock for a podcast interview where he took industry critics to task as well as discussed the benefits of litigation finance.

Bentham IMF Legal Counsel Julia Gewolb discusses the Singapore Parliament’s recent passage of legislation allowing the use of litigation finance in international arbitration cases.

On 10 January 2017, the Civil Law (Amendment) Bill (38/2016) passed its second reading before the Parliament of Singapore. The Bill abolishes the torts of maintenance and champerty, and for the first time makes it expressly lawful for a third party to fund dispute resolution proceedings in Singapore.

In the United States, the litigation finance industry is more mature than in Canada; American law firms and clients often use funding to pursue meritorious commercial litigation. At the same time, the U.S. market is evolving quickly. In just five years since Bentham opened its first U.S. office, it represents approximately 50% of our cases worldwide.