CORPORATE LITIGATION FEE RISK

Many prospective business claimants, especially corporate enterprises will have the available capital to pay their lawyers either wholly or partially on a standard private billing arrangement without the assistance of external funding.

A key benefit of such an approach is that it maximises the net return to the litigant company should the company prevail, since there are no success fees or other “uplift” costs payable to lawyers or external funders. However, the trade-off for “self-financing” is that it also means increased risk, since the company bears the risk of losing the capital outlay if the case fails.

Fortunately, there are options available to mitigate these risks and help achieve a financially prudent middle ground.

Insurance for external legal spend (own-side fee insurance)

The decision as to whether to green-light a new litigation or arbitration claim will likely be driven in part by the likely risk vs reward. Obtaining as much budget certainty/control over the external legal spend and overall risk management will likely form a key part of the analysis for in-house counsel and/or financial officers.

At TheJudge, we have extensive experience in arranging insurance cover for some or all the fees paid to external legal advisors when pursuing a commercial dispute. This means that should the claim be unsuccessful; the insured company is reimbursed for the fees and expenses it has paid up to the agreed limit of cover.

Single case or portfolio of cases:

We can arrange these specialist covers for single cases or a portfolio of cases. Several advantages can be achieved through portfolio covers which our team can discuss with you.

Flexible premiums

We can usually secure a range of premium options, including deferred and contingent premiums, which means some or all of the premium is only payable in the event of a successful outcome.

Speak to one of our team to discuss your case or portfolio of cases.

What our clients say:

    “ Air Canada has its share of significant litigation matters that entail a high expenditure on fees and 

    disbursements. While we have the ability to self-fund, in some circumstances we might prefer to hedge the

    economic risk of a negative outcome. In these situations we find litigation insurance to be a very cost effective

    way of hedging our risk.”
                                              – Air Canada