Litigation Funding

What is it?

To a Solicitor funding is often "the A-t-E Policy taken out to protect his/her client against certain costs should the case not have a successful outcome." To an Insurer, funding means "the money provided to a Solicitor or his client in order for a legal action to be purchased or to be run/progressed". Under either definition ULP can help.

Who are the Funders?

Funders come in all shapes and sizes; big Banks, small Banks, specialist lenders, venture capitalists, hedge funds, investment trusts and so on.

At any given point in time, new Funders are entering the litigation and/or After-the-Event (“ATE”) arena, others may be pulling out or about to pull out (whether for political or economic reasons), but the overall number of active Funders is rising inexorably. More recently, the most noticeable trend has been the emergence of a number of contingency fee orientated funding vehicles.

What types of funding are available?

The days of funding being virtually exclusively for personal injury cases by way of a regulated loan agreement to the claimant are long gone.

It is now possible to arrange funding on a case specific basis and for most if not all types of litigation. The size of the loan need not be a constraint either.

Today’s Funder is looking to lend against the security of a Solicitor’s practice, or on a case-specific basis or in return for a share of the winnings (contingency fee basis). Monies lent can be for any or all of (or a mixture of) the Solicitor’s work in progress (“WIP”), case acquisition costs (referral fees), disbursements and (if part or all of it is required to be paid up-front) the ATE premium.

Where does ULP fit in?

ULP is able and prepared to assist Solicitors in obtaining funding and can open doors where necessary, although we do not give formal advice to Solicitors as to which Funder or Funders might be suitable to Solicitors or their clients. Like the ATE insurance market, the market for funding is evolving rapidly.

ULP gets to know who the Funders are, because the Funders introduce themselves to ULP in order to enlist ULP’s assistance in ensuring their loans are adequately backed/supported by ATE insurance. The Funders tell ULP what they are looking for, or they tell the Solicitors handling the cases what they are looking for and to approach ULP to get it!

ULP does not seek to be paid by either the Solicitor or the Funder for providing this service. Nor will ULP receive a commission on any monies lent to Solicitors or their clients.

For more information or an in-depth discussion, please contact us.