Getting to know the person who is funding your large commercial claim litigation is as important as the funder getting to know you, your case and your lawyers. Prior to joining Bentham, Allison Chock was the youngest equity partner (in recent memory) at a prestigious law firm. She joined the Bentham team in August 2013 and in a matter of weeks, she had opened the Los Angeles office. Having her on the Bentham team is one more arrow in Bentham's quiver.
A concept from Malcolm Gladwell’s most recent book, “David and Goliath”, can be applied to a claimholder who does not have the money to fund his case. A litigation funder as a strategic partner who can pay for the costs of good counsel, hire expert witnesses, and use public relations levels the playing field and puts a bigger shot in the claimholder’s sling.
No matter what jurisdiction your case will be in, it is necessary to know how your client-attorney privilege is protected when you talk to a litigation funder. Jurisdictions differ one from the other and along with an executed NDA, you should also know how you are protected under the jurisdiction's work product doctrine.
Being where the claims and clients are is a no-brainer business decision. Bentham IMF Ltd, the parent company of Bentham IMF, has offices in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide. Australia is 2.97 million square miles; the United States is 3.794 million square miles. It made sense to cover more territory in the US than with just a New York office. However, opening an office in Los Angeles was about more than covering square miles. It was about opportunity. Read why…
When seeking third-party funding for your claim, you should be aware of maintaining the confidentiality of the documents that you and your lawyer have created. The protection afforded by the Work Product Doctrine varies by jurisdiction. Protection of your documents can potentially mean winning or losing a case if the documents are deemed to be discoverable.
Be wary of subjecting your attorney’s work product to discovery by your opponent in an inadvertent waiver of the Work Product Doctrine. Know how to protect the confidentiality of your attorney’s work product when seeking litigation financing. Each state jurisdiction as well as the federal jurisdiction have slightly different but critical differences. Know where you stand in your jurisdiction.
Sharing documents with a litigation funder is an important part of seeking funding for your claim. Part of the funder’s decision process is based on your attorney’s due diligence of the documents you provide. Equally important is preserving the confidentiality of the documents and abiding by the rules of the Work Product Doctrine in the jurisdiction where your case will be filed. Protecting your documents from discovery is critical. Not all jurisdictions have the same protections. Your lawyer will know the rules and you should be aware of them, too.
Stature, history and perhaps a bit of mystery. The name Bentham IMF combines
two of the most well-known and recognized names in commercial litigation finance.
It took two legal entrepreneurs in Australia to develop the first model for litigation finance. Hugh McLernon and John Walker are recognized by The American Lawyer Magazine recognized McLernon and Walker as one of the 50 top innovators in the legal industry in the past 50 years.
Say it isn’t so, or say it is so. Two hundred years ago and even more recently, litigation funders
were considered ruthless scoundrels and access to justice was limited to only those who could
afford the high costs of litigation.
Whether or not the American legal market is ready for commercial litigation funding, it is here and here to stay. Although commercial litigation finance may be new in the States, Bentham IMF’s parent, Bentham IMF Ltd, is the world’s most experienced commercial litigation funder and has been funding cases in Australia and around the world since 2001.
