20 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | FEB 2022 HOW CAN LITIGATION FUNDING LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD FOR JUSTICE? Rising litigation costs have made access to justice expensive and prohibitively so for many individuals and small businesses. Many claimants are often forced to abandon or prematurely settle what are often, in our view, clearly meritorious claims. The relatively nascent but growing litigation funding sector helps to mitigate this lack of access to justice. We believe more corporate lawyers need to take the same approaches that have enabled the global stock and bond capital markets to thrive, and apply them to their own backyard — litigation. That commercial litigation suffers from a lack of capital is evidenced by strong doubledigit portfolio returns achieved by the listed litigation funders, net of losses and fees. More competition over time will increase the supply of capital and drive investor returns down to the benefit of claimants and, of course, lawyers. Benefits of litigation funding There are many benefits associated with the use of litigation finance. Litigation is often stressful for individuals and small companies both financially and emotionally. As soon as a claimant chooses to pursue litigation, they are inevitably taking on financial risk. This relates to both the irrecoverable costs of the litigation (i.e. ongoing legal fees) and the risk of having to pay the defendant’s costs if the claim fails (i.e. the adverse cost risk). Litigation funding can shift these risks to a third-party funder that has a diversified HowCan Litigation Funding Level the Playing Field for Justice? Cormac Leech CEO Diana Pupkevic Investment Analyst AxiaFunder 184 Shepherds Bush Rd, London, W6 7NL Tel: +44 203 286 5922 E: info@axiafunder.com www.axiafunder.com An emerging field, yet not one commonly engaged with by lawyers, litigation funding can prove crucial in determining the outcome of a case. This month we hear from Cormac Leech and Diana Pupkevic of AxiaFunder, who outline the latest developments in litigation funding and how they stand to benefit lawyers and the wider rule of law.
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