Category Archives: Special Features
Could UK Class Actions Put a Stop to Ticketmaster’s Price-Gouging?
The following piece was contributed by Tom Davey, Co-Founder and Director at Factor Risk Management.
News of another class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster comes as little surprise, given the company’s long history of legal disputes both in the UK and North America. Described by US senator Richard Blumenthal as a “monopolistic mess”, the company has been beset with criticism and legal action ever since merging with events promoter and venue operator Live Nation in 2010. The combined entity controls around 70% of the live venue and ticketing marketplace, a situation which many believe it exploits at the expense of its customers.
Funding Opportunity: Partnerships in Social and Environmental Disputes in the Amazon
Daniel Cavalcante is an experienced Brazilian lawyer, and seeks partners to structure partnerships in disputes involving indigenous and socio-environmental rights against large global companies that have business activities in Brazil.
Key Takeaways from LFJs Special Digital Event: Mass Torts and Litigation Funding
On Thursday March 23rd, Litigation Finance Journal hosted a special digital event: Mass Torts and Litigation Funding. Panelists included Michael Rozen (MR), Founder and Managing Partner at TRGP Investment Partners, James Romeo (JR), Managing Partner at Greenpoint Capital, Brian Roth (BR), Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Rocade Capital, and Michael Guzman (MG), Partner at Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel and Frederick. The discussion was moderated by Ed Truant (ET), Founder of Slingshot Capital.
Unsubstantiated Arguments against Third Party Litigation Funding by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The following piece was contributed by Boris Ziser and John Schneider of law firm Schulte Roth & Zabel.
As famed British-American author and journalist Christopher Hitchens astutely observed, “exceptional claims require exceptional evidence.”[1] Alas, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform (“ILR”) overlooks Hitchens’ directive in its November 2022 paper “A New Threat: The National Security Risk of Third Party Litigation Funding” (“ILR Paper”). The ILR Paper, in short, makes an exceptional set of claims about the bad faith of American lawyers, the implied ineptness of our judges and the way our legal system functions, without providing the requisite evidence to back it up.
Highlights from Brown Rudnick’s 2nd Annual European Litigation Funding Conference
Last week, Brown Rudnick hosted its second European Litigation Funding Conference, which brought together a crowd of international thought-leaders from across the industry, and provided attendees with an agenda filled with insightful discussions on a wide array of issues. The conference proved to be a beneficial experience for all, with Augusta Ventures co-founder Robert Hanna describing it as ‘the pre-eminent litigation funding conference in Europe, if not the world’.
Casting a Worldwide Net: How Litigation Funders Can Leverage Europe’s New Unified Patent Court
The following article was contributed by Lionel Martin (Partner, August Debouzy), Pierre-Olivier Ally (Counsel, August Debouzy), Ben Quarmby (Partner, MoloLamken LLP) and Jonathan E. Barbee (Counsel, MoloLamken LLP).
Europe’s Unified Patent Court (UPC) is on the cusp of launch, confirmed for this June 1, 2023. It has been eagerly anticipated by the patent litigation community across the member states—starting with 17 European countries, but expected to extend rapidly to all of Europe minus Poland, Spain, Croatia, and, most notably, the UK.
The UPC has been long in the making: over ten years have passed since the agreement was first signed. What is to be expected of this new court, and what opportunities does it present for litigation funders?
Immunity from Lawyer Malpractice – Uniquely Australian
The following article was contributed by Valerie Blacker, a commercial litigator focusing on funded litigation, and John Speer, a lawyer in the Dispute Resolution and Litigation Team at Piper Alderman.
While large class actions receive the lion’s share of media attention, litigation financiers also regularly fund litigation involving a single plaintiff. Given that solicitors are required to maintain professional indemnity insurance, they can be, in instances of negligence, an attractive prospect for financiers: they are well-resourced and have the capacity to satisfy any judgment awarded against them.
Funder Spotlight: Hedonova
Hedonova is a hedge fund that was established in 2020, and it specializes in alternative investments. The company has offices located in various parts of the world, making it accessible to investors from different regions. Alternative investments are unique investment opportunities that do not conform to the standard categories of investments such as stocks and bonds. Hedonova’s portfolio of alternative investments encompasses a diverse range of assets, including startups, real estate, fine art, wine, and cryptocurrencies.
The Secret to Success with Trade Secrets – 5 Factors That Litigation Funders Should Consider When Evaluating Trade Secrets Cases
The following article is a contribution from Ben Quarmby and Jonathan E. Barbee, Partner and Counsel at MoloLamken LLP, respectively.
Litigation funders have trade secrets on their minds. Since the introduction of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) in 2016, trade secrets litigation has been on the rise. Over a thousand trade secrets cases were filed in federal court in both 2021 and 2022. By all accounts, that trend is set to continue. Big verdicts have followed, with some trade secrets verdicts now rivaling the biggest patent verdicts. In the information age, a company’s most valuable intellectual property may not be its patents after all, but the wealth of non-patented, proprietary information surrounding its ideas—its trade secrets.
CFO’s and Litigation Finance: The Time is Ripe for Adoption
One of the holy grails of litigation funding has long been for funders to convince CFOs to view litigation through a commercial lens, and unlock the value of their legal assets. While straightforward and practical, the evolution of the CFO mindset on this issue has been slow to materialize. Many in the litigation funding community blame cultural norms—old habits are simply hard to break, which is especially true when things are going swimmingly. But with inflation upon us and a recession looming, the time is ripe for CFOs to reconsider their firm’s relationship to litigation funding.
