How can litigation finance help lawyers and their clients achieve business and litigation objectives? Who are the parties involved? What are the steps in the funding process? What are the various investment structures? What is the role of litigation finance firms in case strategy? What is the difference between consumer and commercial lawsuit funding? How can third-party funding promote access to justice?
Litigation Finance Basics
Three Ways Litigation Finance Changes Your Job: Inside & Out
Lee Drucker
This post was contributed by Bill Patterson; he was the general counsel of Business Logic where he oversaw a “bet-the-company” litigation. He now manages complex litigation at Swanson, Martin & Bell. You can contact Bill at bpatterson@smbtrials.com.
Litigation finance is here to stay. Having worked as outside counsel, in-house and now as outside counsel again, I can confidently make that statement. There are three fundamental ways litigation finance changes your job, whether you’re inside or out.
Read MoreLake Whillans’ Life Sciences Law Firm Index
Lee Drucker
In order to help entrepreneurs in the life sciences sector, we are creating an annual ranking of the top law firms that help these entrepreneurs protect their interests throughout the lifecycle of their business.
Read MoreThe Maple Tree is Growing: Commercial Litigation Funding in Canada
Marla Decker
The litigation finance industry in the U.S. is relatively new compared to the more mature markets that exist in Australia, the U.K. and other parts of Europe. Continuing the growth trend in North America is now Canada, which has begun to adopt litigation finance on its own terms.
Like its Commonwealth sister Australia, litigation finance in Canada found its initial toehold in class action funding, in response to the ever-increasing costs of litigation and the risks of a loser-pays system. Over the last few years, Canadian courts have approved litigation funding agreements in the class litigation context despite long-standing adherence in Canada to the champerty and maintenance doctrines. In fact, the province of Quebec took the unique step of establishing a public fund that is used to finance class lawsuits as discussed by University of Montreal Professor Catherine Piché at last month’s symposium on litigation finance at NYU. Ontario has a similar fund.
Read MoreHow to Raise Capital in a Difficult Situation
Lee Drucker
Developing a new product or business in the energy space is rife with complexity. Whether it be creating a new alternative energy device or innovative software platform, energy entrepreneurs must identify a valuable opportunity, assemble a dedicated and talented team, and potentially invest years and abundant resources in R&D – all of which may occur before navigating government regulations, finding manufacturing partners or even knowing whether you have a viable product for the market.
Read MoreLitigation Finance; a Financial Perspective
Lee Drucker
On November 20th, the Center on Civil Justice at NYU School of Law hosted an in-depth conference dedicated to the subject of litigation finance, Litigation Funding: The Basics and Beyond. It was a great opportunity to interact with many of the people that are devoting their time and energy to thinking about and building this new ecosystem of law and finance. David Lat (among others) covered the event, and you can read some of his takeaways here.
Personally, I was able to glean from the perspective of other professionals in the industry; some perspectives were new and interesting, and other perspectives I disagreed with, but in either case it was it was worthwhile to learn what perspectives others were bringing to bear. One of the big take-aways for me was that each funder seems to be taking a slightly different approach to the industry. Next week, I will write an article to distill these differences.
Read MoreHow to Choose a Litigation Funder
Lee Drucker
As the litigation finance market has developed in the U.S., the number of firms offering financing has likewise grown. Indeed, in recognition of the growing field of players, Above the Law recently surveyed readers about their experiences with the most significant commercial litigation finance firms. But beyond word of mouth, how might one choose among litigation funders, particularly if they are offering ostensibly equivalent economic terms? Like choosing attorneys best suited to litigate a case, there are a number of considerations that will enable claimholders and their counsel to differentiate between their options.
Read MoreMt. Rushmore of Healthcare Corporate Venture
Lee Drucker
Lake Whillans is excited to be part of the solution for healthcare’s next great companies. We learned that there are some big issues in the corporate VC-startup relationship. But it was exciting to see some funds have consistently earned entrepreneurs’ trust. We reviewed our research on digital health and life sciences investors again, and are excited to present four corporate funds with the most overall positive feedback from medical innovators. According to our surveys, these are the top healthcare corporate VCs.
Read MoreLitigation Finance: a Symposium at NYU
Lee Drucker
On November 20th, the Center on Civil Justice at NYU School of Law will be hosting an all-day conference, Litigation Funding: The Basics and Beyond.
To my knowledge, this is the first law school to host an in-depth conference dedicated to the subject of litigation finance, and it is a great opportunity for those interested in the topic to learn more and interact with some of the people that are currently shaping the industry.
Read MoreProtecting Energy Technology
Lee Drucker
One of the biggest challenges energy and technology companies face is protecting innovation. How do you make sure other companies or individuals don’t steal valuable new intellectual property?
Below is an article written by Deborah Huso in which Lisa Adams, partner in the IP section, and Tom Burton, chair of the energy technology practice, at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.’s Boston offices, talk about how to make money from your innovations without risking theft or loss of proprietary technology.
Read MoreLitigation Finance: Ethics Q & A
Boaz Weinstein
I recently had the pleasure of participating in a panel discussion on litigation finance hosted by the Association of Business Trial Lawyers in Ojai, California. The audience was engaged and asked a variety of questions, including many on ethical considerations related to litigation finance. Since this topic seems to be top of mind for lawyers when it comes to litigation finance, we offer the following sample Q&A:
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