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TheJudge Launch an Exclusive Funding Facility with Burford Capital

We have been paying close attention to the feedback of lawyers and clients who have made applications for litigation funding. Sprint has been designed to overcome the three main complaints about third party funding.

The three recurring problems that lawyers identify are:

  1. High rejection rates
  2. Due diligence that takes too long
  3. The price of funding is too expensive

In response to this feedback, TheJudge has teamed up with Burford Capital to create an exclusive non-recourse funding facility called Sprint.

Sprint provides funding for own disbursements and own solicitors fees which is effectively due-diligence free. Provided TheJudge and Burford agree that the eligibility criteria are met, then a litigation funding agreement can be executed within just a few days.

We can therefore give solicitors more certainty that the case will be accepted, quickly and on pre-defined terms.

The Eligibility Criteria:

  1. Costs to damages ratio must be at least 1:4
  2. Litigation or arbitration within England and Wales
  3. There must be sufficient ATE insurance for the estimated adverse costs
  4. There must acceptable ATE insurance for the sums invested by Burford
  5. The case must be less than 6 months from trial.

Sprint puts insurance at the heart of the arrangement because insurance is the cheapest way to transfer risk. By leveraging the funder’s capital against an ATE insurance policy, the funder is able to offer a more competitive success fee than if their capital were fully at risk.

Once insurance is sourced, clients can elect how much Sprint financing they require.

Sprint is designed to help tackle the economics of lower value cases. Sprint will provide clients with funding for as little as £25,000 up to a maximum of £500,000 and therefore operates in a space that many funders ignore in preference for higher value cases.

Whilst this is not the first litigation funding product launched specifically to supply the smaller value cases, it is the first time that a major litigation funder has taken a strategic position in this part of the market. Burford Capital has raised over £300m to invest in litigation, and can fund millions of pounds in a single case.

If your client is interested in funding, we can discuss the economics of a specific case with the client and explain how best to tailor the application of insurance and funding to achieve the client’s desired goals. If you wish to discuss Sprint with one of our brokers, please contact us on 0845 257 6058 or email sprint@thejudge.co.uk