Overview

‘Third party litigation funding’, where third parties who have no other connection with a law suit ‘invest’ in the litigation in exchange for a financial return if it’s successful, is already established in Australia and is now starting to take-off in the UK, with a number of funds having been set-up to invest specifically in litigation.

This report by legal market research company Jures and commissioned by City law firm Fox Williams profiles the third party litigation funding market following the publication of Lord Justice Jackson’s Review of Civil Justice Costs earlier this year, and his broad endorsement of this method of funding legal claims.

It draws on interviews with protagonists including funders in the UK and abroad, insurers, leading litigators, academics and commentators to identify the factors that will drive and shape the market.

It also reveals a number of issues critical to the future development of third party funding, including its growing profile in both the legal and investment communities, and how a regime of voluntary self-regulation can deal with Lord Justice Jackson’s ‘big three’ issues of capital adequacy; adverse costs; and termination.