Corporate & Securities Law

Who?s who in UK litigation funding

By Werner R. Kranenburg

This week’s Legal Week has an extensive overview of the players, law firms and funding specialists alike, in the UK litigation funding market. At least one is missing though, namely accountancy firm Smith & Williamson, which had set up its funding practice in September last year.

From the article: “The dramatic adoption of the once-controversial technique illustrates the fast-changing attitudes as London litigators position themselves for an expected upturn in group claims and litigation in general.”

It quotes Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP’s Paul Mitchard, head of Skadden’s European International Arbitration Group thus: “Funding is definitely here to stay. It is a significant development in dispute resolution, where litigation and arbitration are now being viewed as a commercial venture for outside funders for the first time.”

Then yesterday’s FT Weekend chipped in too, with a writing of a far more general nature. If this was London buses, the wait would be for the third piece around the corner…

So just in case, to make up for it if there isn’t one, one off the WV&Z shelf then from over a year ago, a profile of ‘trailblazer’ and founder of IM Litigation Funding, Toby Duthie. (FT) (Note, another IMLF founder of higher profile, Susan Dunn, has left that company late last year to join fellow funder MKM Longboat Capital Advisors LLP. (The Times, The Times))

What when where: Next week the US Chamber of Commerce Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness is to hold the second installment of its Annual Capital Markets Summit (26 March 2008, Washington DC). This year’s focus is on ‘Strengthening U.S. Capital Markets for All Americans’. (programme) Two topics of the day will be securities litigation reform and the state of regulation, which, given the events of the past week or so, should be very interesting indeed. Not a single speaker from the plaintiffs’ bar, mind.

Full post as published by With Vigour and Zeal on March 23, 2008 (boomark / email).