A new survey by Validity Finance and ALM has yielded some impressive results for litigation funders to harp onto. A full 98% of attorneys surveyed who had used litigation finance at least once in the past said they would do so again, and 93% found their experience to be positive.
An LFJ Conversation with Michael Kelley, Partner, Parker Poe
A new survey by Validity Finance and ALM has yielded some impressive results for litigation funders to harp onto. A full 98% of attorneys surveyed who had used litigation finance at least once in the past said they would do so again, and 93% found their experience to be positive.
According to the report, the two companies surveyed 285 private attorneys and 45 in-house counsel, for a total of 330 attorneys. In addition to the aforementioned results, the survey also found that 70% of respondents believe litigation funding to be a key disruptor in the legal space. And only 27% of those who had used funding in the past have lingering ethical concerns (primarily around privilege and confidentiality).
While just 15% of respondents said they had used litigation funding in the past (which helps yield that awfully-high 98% figure), a full 50% claimed they are open to using funding in the future. The main reason? The high cost of litigation (no surprise there).
The report comes on the heels of a recent Burford Capital study which found similar results pertaining to CFOs and Financial Executives at major corporations. Apparently, market adoption of litigation funding remains slow, yet there are still plenty of growth prospects given the results of the dual surveys.
Surveys such as these may help allay the concerns of those who decry market saturation and excessive competition from an influx of capital into the space. Clearly – at least as far as the respondents to these surveys go – there’s plenty of opportunity for that capital to be put to work.
