INSIGHTS INTO LITIGATION FINANCE

Mt. 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.

Litigation 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.

Protecting 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.

Litigation 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:

Litigation Finance Tier 1: Lake Whillans & GKC

Lee Drucker

Above The Law recently published its survey of client experiences with litigation finance firms, and we are happy to be one of only two firms considered ‘top tier’ among the litigation finance companies included in the survey. It is great to learn that ~80% of the companies that we have supported would unreservedly choose to work with us again. It is a solid starting point for our young company, but it is a number we will seek to improve upon as we grow.

Welcome to Our Newest Team Member

Lee Drucker

We recently hired our first full-time employee, Marla Decker, and we could not be more excited to have her as part of the team. Without further introduction, here is Marla, on how she came to join Lake Whillans, her views on litigation finance and the legal industry.

Pick the Right Lawyer for a Royalty Contract

Lee Drucker

Role play with me for a moment. Imagine you’re going in for surgery and you can choose between two surgeons: a doctor who performs that surgery twice a year, or one that does it twice a month?

It’s a no brainer. The same should apply to lawyers – particularly when it comes to the mission-critical task of negotiating royalty contracts. These key agreements will make or break a company. Plus, if things go bad between your company and other parties, these documents will be what separates losing millions (and sometimes more) and remaining intact.

Here are some ways to vet your attorneys to see which ones know enough about royalty agreements.

Doing business with the DoD (then and now)

Lee Drucker

Small businesses face particular challenges when endeavoring to protect their patent rights and rights to technical data. The committee report noted instances where the DoD gave another contractor access to intellectual property so they could “reverse engineer”and manufacture a patented invention. If a contractor feels his or her invention has been used unlawfully, the contractor’s only recourse, according to the report, is to sue through U.S. Federal Court –an inordinately expensive and time-consuming process.

Panel Discussion on Protecting Your Company

Lee Drucker

I recently participated in a panel discussion at the Converge conference. It produced a discussion that I think can be useful for innovators in the life sciences space. MedCity News summarized the event here.

Protecting Yourself as a Small Business Contractor with the Department of Defense

Lee Drucker

Fred Lisy is president of Orbital Research Inc., which conducts research on and product development of medical devices and military weapons technology. Founded in 1991, this small company of 16 employees has been contracting with the Department of Defense for more than 20 years, mainly with the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force.

“You can’t be risk averse and work with DoD,” he says, which is one reason he maintains about 30 to 50 percent of company revenue in commercial as opposed to government ventures. That being said, he’s also quick to note the best way to protect one’s self as a small business is to keep learning and asking questions. The more you know, the safer you’ll be.

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Contact Us

The best way for companies and their counsel to determine if litigation finance is an attractive option is to discuss it with us.

Lee Drucker drucker@lakewhillans.com