Third party funding on the rise among top 200 firms
Litigation funders have been used by half of the top 200 law firms, according to new research.
In the first of an annual litigation survey by Harbour Litigation Funding Ltd, 90% of firms said they “always” or “sometimes” discuss litigation funding options with their clients.
Harbour’s head of litigation funding, Susan Dunn, says: “We are increasingly seeing interest from claimants who can well afford the costs of litigation but want to share that risk and appreciate having us alongside them through the litigation.”
The survey, conducted over the summer, found three-quarters of claims are for £3m or less, while eight per cent have a value of more than £10m.
One in 10 cases incur legal costs in excess of £500,000— including experts’ fees, counsel and adverse costs, while 72% incur costs lower than £250,000.
Some firms reported that litigation time periods have increased over the last year. A third of firms said it now takes longer for High Court matters, and nearly 90% said the same for arbitrations and three-quarters said the same for tribunal cases.
However, 70% of matters relate to disputes that are less than two years old, and firms say they expect more than 80% of claims to get to trial in the High Court within two years of commencement. More than a quarter of claims are expected to reach trial within one year of commencement.
An arbitration hearing is held within two years in 90% of cases, and before the year is out in 44% of cases. Tribunal hearings are held within two years in 92% of cases, and within one year in 69% of cases.
Commercial contract disputes form the bulk of the litigation workload for the firms (44%) while professional negligence claims account for 12% and insolvency related claims make up nine per cent of litigation work. Fraud claims account for seven per cent, IP claims make up six per cent and breach of trust accounts for four per cent of litigation.
