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Taking root

12 May 2017 / Neil Purslow
Issue: 7745 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Litigation finance is going from strength to strength in the UK & globally, says Neil Purslow

Four years on from Lord Justice Jackson’s reforms, there is no doubt that litigation funding, or litigation finance as it is becoming increasingly known, is now mainstream in the UK.

Therium’s data show that for 75% of litigation partners at UK law firms funding is central to their discussions with clients. That trend is reflected by recent research from law firm RPC which highlighted that 2016 saw a 25% increase in litigation funding in the UK over 2015’s level, with the leading sector players investing £723m in legal claims versus £575m in 2015.

Key driver

The key driver behind the momentum in the litigation finance market has been the growing recognition that third party funding eradicates the costs and associated risk issues of litigating for claimants because the funder assumes all of the financial cost, including the other side’s if the case is lost—and is only paid if the claim wins. Unsurprisingly, this is very attractive to potential claimants, given

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NEWS
Ceri Morgan, knowledge counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, analyses the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, which reshapes the law of fiduciary relationships and common law bribery
The boundaries of media access in family law are scrutinised by Nicholas Dobson in NLJ this week
Reflecting on personal experience, Professor Graham Zellick KC, Senior Master of the Bench and former Reader of the Middle Temple, questions the unchecked power of parliamentary privilege
Geoff Dover, managing director at Heirloom Fair Legal, sets out a blueprint for ethical litigation funding in the wake of high-profile law firm collapses
James Grice, head of innovation and AI at Lawfront, explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the legal sector
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