This webinar took place on April 29, 2020. 

To download the slides from this presentation, please click here. A replay of the webinar is below.

Description: COVID-19 and its aftermath will undoubtedly generate significant disputes and spawn litigation in a variety of areas, including contractual breaches invoking force majeure provisions, consumer protection and commercial finance, and insurance coverage challenges. We can also expect to see federal and state litigation related to COVID-19 legislation and executive actions. Whatever the source of the dispute, the economic spillover of COVID-19 will present unique challenges for businesses, many of whom will need to consider how to fund litigation while protecting the business’s cash flow and minimizing unpredictable costs. Should external litigation funding be one of the tools in your company’s toolbox in these unpredictable times?

In 2016, the New Yorker pegged the litigation funding market as a $3-billion-dollar asset class. Just three years later, a study identified a total of 41 commercial litigation funders currently active in the United States employing nearly 300 people, with $9.5 billion in combined assets under management dedicated to US commercial litigation funding. The rapid escalation in litigation funding in the United States presents both opportunities and challenges for businesses. 

During this webinar speakers:

  • Explored plaintiff-side litigation funding and litigation defense insurance funding strategies. 
  • Discussed how litigation funding options can impact the litigation that your businesses may confront and how it could open new opportunities for businesses to enforce their rights, or economically defend unavoidable lawsuits, in the fallout of COVID-19. 
  • Explored trends in funding sources and structures in the COVID-19 era, as well as key ethical issues associated with litigation funding.

Speakers:

  • Ted Farrell, Founder, Litigation Funding Advisers
  • Ross Weiner, Legal Director, Risk Settlements
  • Matt Reason, Vice President of Investments & Partnerships, LexShares
  • David Carter (Moderator), Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson
  • Cathy Hinger, Moderator, Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson

Additional Resources:

To help navigate the COVID crisis, we are sharing actionable content on our COVID-19 Resource Hub: Navigating the Legal Challenges of COVID-19. This is the best place to find fresh perspectives and insights from Womble Bond Dickinson (US) attorneys on a real time basis.