Lord Justice Sir Rupert Jackson visiting Australia

MELBOURNE, 1 March 2018: IMF Bentham Limited (ASX:IMF) (IMF Bentham) is delighted to welcome one of England’s leading legal minds who will be visiting Australia in September 2018.

Lord Justice Sir Rupert Jackson of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales will be guest speaker at an invitation-only Class Actions Conference co-hosted by IMF Bentham and the University of NSW. In addition to delivering the keynote address, Sir Rupert will also speak at private IMF events and will meet with leading members of the Australian judiciary, bar, legal profession and academia.

In his 2009 and 2017 reviews, Sir Rupert examined England's system of legal costs and recommended a series of reforms (known as the “Jackson Reforms”). Sir Rupert made innovative proposals for the control of litigation costs. He suggested imposing cost budgets on litigants and their lawyers which would be actively managed by the court. Only reasonable, budgeted and proportionate costs could be recovered by the successful party in these cases. Sir Rupert argued his reforms would incentivise law firms to work efficiently within set budgets and deliver access to justice at proportionate cost. Understandably, his recommendations, many of which have been implemented or are in the process of implementation, are controversial.

Class actions are among the most costly and complex forms of litigation before the Australian courts. Australia does not presently have a system of court-controlled costs budgets for major litigation. The imposition of judicially-supervised costs budgets in Australia could have a substantial impact on law firms and their clients. In September 2018, Sir Rupert will be addressing this issue before an audience of Australian judges, leading litigation lawyers and academics. His presentation is sure to inspire debate.

IMF Bentham has funded many of Australia’s most significant class actions. The September Conference is part of IMF Bentham’s sponsorship of the Class Action Research Initiative (CARI) with the University of NSW. CARI is a collaboration between industry and academia to identify and address issues arising in class actions practice. Leading UNSW Professors Michael Legg and Simone Degeling will also present at the Conference. A panel discussion with industry leaders will close the event.

IMF has a highly experienced litigation funding team overseeing its investments. We have a 90% success rate over 166 completed investments and have recovered over A$1.3 billion for clients since 2001. 

For further information regarding IMF and its activities, please visit www.imf.com.au.