The business of third party funding (“TPF”) has grown exponentially over the recent past such that it is now explored as a potential method of funding claims in most cases and is being increasingly used by savvy clients to ring-fence or manage dispute cost and risk. TPF is not yet permissible in a number of jurisdictions, so advice should always be sought before it is considered as a potential way of funding.
NAS and its consultants can draw from experience in negotiating TPF and other innovative arrangements for funding a client’s dispute and managing the risk of exposure to an opponent’s legal costs.
TPF is an arrangement whereby an independent third party will fund a portion or all of a client’s legal fees in exchange for a return, often out of damages secured and often expressed as a multiple of sums invested. Similarly, before- and after-the-event insurance products exist that, upon payment of a premium, will cover a client’s exposure to paying an opponent’s legal costs (e.g., where a client loses its claim). NAS’s network also includes firms that are prepared to consider entering into contingency or damages-based agreements whereby a portion of the firm’s fees are put ‘at risk’ in exchange for a return upon success in the case.
Working with its networks, NAS can approach the TPF and insurance markets and consider options for funding legal costs with its consultants. If this is of any interest, please get in contact with us.