Quick Answer
Legal funding is a young industry, but it's grown up fast. Of the pre-settlement financing companies operating in the US, the oldest - USClaims - has been around since 1996. Just a few months ago, it was acquired by one of the youngest - Blackstone-backed DRB Capital. The landscape is growing, the movement gaining momentum: banks are spinning out entire divisions to form funding companies, chairmen are leaving their boards to become financiers, funders are going public and opening offices across the globe.
The only thing we enjoy more than telling stories is letting stories tell themselves. Below are some of our favorites; if anyone ever tells you legal funding is still a "Wild West" industry, go ahead and point them to the Supreme Court clerks who founded Gerchen Keller. Tell them about the Credit Suisse department that became Parabellum Capital, or Burford Capital's $150 million bond offering that closed eight days after it launched. This isn't the Wild West - that's far too broad.
This is the Gold Rush.
Legal Funding: the Highlights
Number of In-House Counsel Who Used Litigation Financing in a Year Has More Than Doubled
Inside Counsel, 11/21/2014
Litigation Finance On the Rise
Global Legal Post, 11/19/2014
Investors Chronicle, 7/30/2014
Burford Breaks Half-Billion Dollar Mark After Bond Offering
Litigation Daily, 7/29/2014
Will Litigation Finance Hold Corporations Accountable Globally?
Forbes, 7/14/2014
Ex-Morgan Stanley Banker Joins Litigation Finance Firm
Wall Street Journal, 3/31/2014
How Litigation Funding Helped Knock Down State Farm
Law360, 2/11/2014
Litigation Finance Firm Raises $260 Million for New Fund
New York Times, 1/12/2014
Litigation Investors Gain Ground in US
Wall Street Journal, 1/12/2014
Legal Departments Could Turn Costs to Profit with the Right Approach to Legal Funding
Global Legal Post, 8/19/2014
Sparkling Return for Burford as Litigation Investment 'Comes of Age'
Financial News, 1/24/2013
Top Credit Suisse Banker Joins Parabellum Capital
PR Newswire, 1/24/2013
Investors Chronicle, 7/31/2012
Looking to Make a Profit on Lawsuits, Firms Invest in Them
New York Times, 4/30/2012
Litigation Funder's Profits Up
Law Society Gazette, 4/5/2012
Credit Suisse Litigation Finance Unit Spins Off to Form Parabellum Capital
AmLaw Litigation Daily, 1/10/2012
Top Australian Litigation Finance Company Opens New York Subsidiary
Law.com, 10/10/2011
About the author
Joshua is a lawyer and tech entrepreneur who speaks and writes frequently on the civil justice system. Previously, Joshua founded Betterfly, a VC-backed marketplace that reimagined how consumers find local services by connecting them to individuals rather than companies. Betterfly was acquired by Takelessons in 2014. Joshua holds a JD from Emory University, and a BA in Economics and MA in Accounting from the University of Michigan.
