Longford Capital Management, LP today announced that it has entered into a $50 million funding agreement with Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP to provide equity capital to fund attorneys’ fees and litigation costs, and to monetize the value of meritorious legal claims for Willkie’s clients involved in commercial litigation cases handled by lawyers based in Willkie’s Chicago office.
Willkie is an international law firm of approximately 850 attorneys with offices in New York, Washington, Houston, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Chicago, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Brussels, Milan, and Rome.
The agreement provides Willkie’s clients with an alternative method of funding litigation and enables clients to treat meritorious legal claims as corporate assets capable of being monetized. Longford provides funding for disputes in several areas of law, including antitrust, patent, trade secrets, subrogation, health care reimbursement, and a variety of contract and fraud claims.
In addition, Craig C. Martin, Chairman, Midwest, a member of Willkie’s Executive Committee and a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department, will join Longford’s board of Independent Advisors. For many years, Mr. Martin has known and worked with members of the Longford legal team, including William P. Farrell, Jr., co-founder and managing director, and Justin A. Maleson, director.
Mr. Martin said, “Our new agreement with Longford will provide our clients with an alternative funding model for high-stakes commercial disputes, especially those with outcome determinative trials, for businesses as plaintiff or as defendant. We have a talented group of trial lawyers with diverse skill sets and believe this is a tremendous opportunity for the firm to offer corporate and private equity clients a new level of service.”
Mr. Farrell said, “We have known Craig Martin and his Chicago-based trial team for many years. They are successful litigators and trial lawyers representing sophisticated clients. We look forward to assisting Willkie by providing its clients with attractive financial options in connection with commercial disputes.”
About Longford Capital
Longford Capital is a leading private investment company that provides capital to leading law firms, public and private companies, research universities, government agencies, and other entities involved in large-scale, commercial legal disputes. Longford was one of the first litigation funds in the United States and is among the world’s largest litigation finance companies with more than $1 billion in assets under management. Typically, Longford funds attorneys’ fees and other costs necessary to pursue meritorious legal claims in return for a share of a favorable settlement or award. The firm manages a diversified portfolio and considers investments in subject matter areas where it has developed considerable expertise, including business-to-business contract claims, antitrust and trade regulation claims, intellectual property claims (including patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret), fiduciary duty claims, fraud claims, claims in bankruptcy and liquidation, domestic and international arbitrations, claim monetization, insurance matters, and a variety of others. For more information, please visit www.longfordcapital.com.
