LAWFUEL – UK Legal News – The Lawyer reports that Herbert Smith has ploughed ahead with third-party litigation funding, putting on hold its working group on the matter, as it assesses the flood of new entrants to the market.
The country’s leading litigation firm is the first firm to directly instruct a broker to find financial backing for a case after asking broker Calunius, which matches hedge funds to firms and their clients, for help with two matters, the details of which remain confidential.
Herbert Smith litigation partner Matthew Weiniger said: “We’re excited about funding. It means clients who couldn’t normally afford Herbert Smith can come to us.”
It is understood that both claims were in excess of $50m (£24.65m). The first case, an arbitration, did not progress, while the second is just starting.
Calunius’s instruction is the latest development in a burgeoning industry where regulation is inevitable, said top City practitioners.
A June report by the Civil Justice Council welcomed funding as long as it is properly regulated. Concerns include the compulsory disclosure of funding details and reinforcing lawyers’ independence from funders
