Legal Funding Is the New Black... and the New Gold

Josh Schwadron

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Josh Schwadron

Chief Executive Officer

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Published On

January 1, 2021

Published On

January 1, 2021

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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

Burford Bond Closes Early

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

Burford Capital Booming

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

Josh Schwadron

Written By

Josh Schwadron

Chief Executive Officer

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.

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