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10 September 2020 / Georgina Squire
Issue: 7901 / Categories: Features , Litigation funding , Profession
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Litigation funding: when the Arkin cap no longer fits

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Georgina Squire reflects on the judicial evolution in the approach to the Arkin cap & the rise of start-ups

The litigation funding market is experiencing an opportunity for growth. A raft of new claims is emerging while many claimants are struggling with cashflow in their businesses. Claimants are, more and more, looking to take the funding of litigation off balance sheet and bring in third party funders to assist their cashflow.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has fuelled this market direction as claimants are under more financial pressure than ever before. However, on the bright side, litigation funding is robustly developing through the uncertain environment by providing claimants with new financing solutions. As a result, there is a raft of funders providing access to the English court system through competitively priced litigation funding. This means that litigation funding is now a more practical solution and risk adverse option for any business, if it is prepared to sacrifice some of its recovery to the funder in exchange

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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