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Member Spotlight: Maros Kravec

By John Freund |

Maros founded LitFin in 2018 after spending several years as a business director of a successful property development company in Manchester, the United Kingdom. As LitFin’s managing partner, Maros handles its day-to-day activities, business strategy and investments. Lately, his primary focus revolves around LitFin SICAV, a recently established fully-regulated fund, perhaps the first of its kind within the EU area focused on the litigation finance industry.

In 2019, Maros was honored as part of Forbes’ 30 Under 30, a testament to his entrepreneurial skills and influence in the business world. Furthermore, Maros is a Chambers-ranked individual for 2023 in the EU.

Maros’ education includes graduating with distinction in law, which he studied in Manchester (the UK) and Lund (Sweden). His international educational background has played a crucial role in shaping his career and business strategies.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Maros enjoys a variety of personal interests. He is known for his love of swimming and traveling, however, most of all he cherishes spending weekends at his countryside mansion nestled in the hills, where he can relax and unwind from his busy work schedule.

Company Name and Description: LitFin Capital

Company Website: https://litfin.capital/

Year Founded:  2018

Headquarters:  Prague, Czech Republic

Area of Focus:  LitFin is a European complex litigation funder with a special focus on funding follow-on cases related to the private enforcement of damages within the realms of EU competition law.

Member Quote: “Our mission is to use litigation funding in order to help injured individuals, companies, insolvency dispute stakeholders, and others to achieve justice, and provide our investors with outstanding returns. From the position of the pioneer in the region, LitFin shortly became one of the most considerable players in the EU funding space. We partner with investors who aim to diversify their investment portfolios while promoting positive social impact, as well as with law firms, which benefit from the potential to offer their clients alternative fee arrangements while minimizing associated risks.”

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Altroconsumo Secures Impressive 50 million Euro Settlement for 60,000 Participants to Dieselgate Class Action in Italy

By Harry Moran |

Altroconsumo and VW Group have reached a ground-breaking agreement, providing over 50 million euro relief to over 60,000 Italian consumers affected by the emissions fraud scandal. Celebrating this major win for Italian consumers, Euroconsumers calls on Volkswagen to now also compensate Dieselgate victims in the other Euroconsumers countries. 

The settlement reached by Altroconsumo, arising from a Euroconsumers coordinated class action which commenced in 2015 ensures that Volkswagen will allocate over 50 million euros in compensation. Eligible participants stand to receive payments of up to 1100 euros per individual owner.

This brings an end to an eight year long legal battle that Altroconsumo together with Euroconsumers has been fiercefully fighting for Italian consumers and marks a significant milestone in seeking justice for those impacted by the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal.

“We extend our massive congratulations to Altroconsumo for reaching this major settlement in favor of the Italian Dieselgate victims. Finally, they will receive the justice and compensation they deserve. This milestone underscores the importance of upholding consumer rights and the accountability of big market players when these rights are ignored, something Euroconsumers and all its national organisations will continue to do together with even more intensity under the new Representative Actions Directive” – Marco Scialdone, Head Litigation and Academic Outreach Euroconsumers

Together with Altroconsumo in Italy, Euroconsumers also initiated Dieselgate class actions against the Volkswagen-group in Belgium, Spain and Portugal. While the circumstances are shared, the outcomes have been far from consistent.

“Euroconsumers was the first European consumer cluster to launch collective actions against Volkswagen to secure redress and compensation for all affected by the emissions scandal in its member countries. After 8 years of relentless pursuit, we urge the VW group to finally come through for all of them and give all of them the compensation they rightfully deserve. All Dieselgate victims are equal and should be treated with equal respect.” – Els Bruggeman, Head Policy and Enforcement Euroconsumers

Consumer protection is nothing without enforcement and so Euroconsumers and its organisations will continue to lead important class actions which benefit consumers all across the single market. 

Read the full Altroconsumo press release here.

About Euroconsumers 

Gathering five national consumer organisations and giving voice to a total of more than 1,5 million people in Italy, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Brazil, Euroconsumers is the world’s leading consumer cluster in innovative information, personalised services and the defence of consumer rights. Our European member organisations are part of the umbrella network of BEUC, the European Consumer Organisation. Together we advocate for EU policies that benefit consumers in their daily lives.

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Commercial Special Features

Member Spotlight: Felipe Hotta 

By John Freund |

Felipe Hotta, Partner at Pogust Goodhead, is a 29-year-old Brazilian lawyer who graduated from the University of São Paulo (USP). Hotta graduated a master's degree in environmental law from Queen Mary University of London and trained at the Negotiation Program at Harvard Law School. 

Specialized in indigenous law, environmental law, and human rights, Hotta dedicates his career to advocating on behalf of vulnerable communities and of those without full access to justice in Brazil, particularly in cases against large international corporations.  

Pogust Goodhead is a global law firm headquartered in London, England, dedicated to fighting for justice on behalf of those affected by potentially irresponsible actions from large corporations. Pogust Goodhead´s mission is to level the playing field between individuals, businesses and large corporations. 

In 2023, Pogust Goodhead and Gramercy signed a £450 million investment partnership, the largest litigation funding deal in legal history. 

Company Website: https://pogustgoodhead.com/ 

Year Founded: 2018 

Headquarters: Rio de Janeiro, London, Philadelphia, Amsterdam, Miami, Edinburgh, San Diego, New Jersey and Sydney. 

Area of Focus:  Environmental law, human rights, climate litigation, consumer law, indigenous law, collective disputes 

Member Quote: "In a context where access to justice is often a privilege of the powerful, litigation funding emerges as hope for those who have been victims of human rights or environmental rights violations in Brazil, particularly in the fight against large corporations." 

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Commercial Regulatory Issues

Rachel Rothwell: CJC Review’s Recommendations Expected to be ‘Considered, Comprehensive and Workable’

By Harry Moran |

An opinion piece in the latest edition of The Law Society Gazette magazine sees Rachel Rothwell explore the question of whether litigation funders should be worried about the upcoming Civil Justice Council (CJC) review of third-party funding in the UK. 

As Rothwell points out in her introduction, the CJC review is unlikely to see the prolonged timelines of similar reviews we have seen abroad, as the CJC has been tasked to deliver its final report by the summer of 2025. She also suggests that the CJC “will not be starting from scratch”, given that one of the working group’s members, Mrs Justice Cockerill, has a pre-existing involvement in an ongoing research project looking at this topic for the European Law Institute (ELI).

Regarding the issue of whether the CJC review will recommend statutory regulation of the litigation funding industry, Rothwell suggests that whilst there is a member of the Financial Conduct Authority on the review’s working group, “the FCA has so far shown no appetite for that onerous task.” Furthermore, Rothwell reveals that the current draft version of the report from ELI “concludes that statutory regulation would not be the right approach.”

Rothwell also explores other issues that the CJC review may consider, from a greater level of self-regulation through industry associations or the potential of imposing a cap on funder’s returns. However, Rothwell concludes that as we currently look at the review “it is particularly encouraging that it is already drawing together a broader consultation group” and that we can expect its recommendations “to be considered, comprehensive and workable.”