When the Family Business Goes to Court: What Family Enterprise Advisors Should Know About Litigation Funding
- Authors:
- Fiona A. Chaney
- Senior Investment Manager and Legal Counsel - United States
- Naomi Loewith
- Director of Strategic Partnerships - Canada, Investment Manager and Legal Counsel - Canada
In this article for FFI Practitioner, Omni Bridgeway’s Fiona Chaney and Naomi Loewith explain how litigation funding works and why it is particularly relevant to family enterprises facing commercial, shareholder or succession disputes.
Family businesses are often asset-rich but cash-constrained, and intrafamily disputes are rarely evenly matched. The party with the strongest claim may have the least access to capital. Fiona and Naomi describe how non-recourse funding allows a meritorious claim to be pursued on its strength rather than the claimant’s balance sheet. They also note a less obvious benefit: a funder’s due diligence offers an independent, unsentimental assessment of a claim at a time when family conflict can cloud judgement.
The article looks at three common scenarios where funding can help: affirmative claims brought by the business, minority shareholder claims, and estate and succession disputes. It also offers practical guidance on when and how advisors can engage a funder.
Read Article in FFI Practitioner