This award-winning conference is the largest annual gathering of solo and small firm practitioners in the country. Some highlights from the program agenda include:

• Starting a Law Practice Boot Camp: Technology Issues in Starting a New Practice by Paul Henry of Denlow & Henry.
• How to Use Social Networking Sites for Investigative Research: What, Why and How by Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch of Internet for Lawyers.
• Ethics: Quicksand Ethical Hazards for Solos and Small Firms by Robert Kirkland of Kirkland, Woods & Martinsen, PC.
• Lien on Me: Resolving Lien Issues in PI Cases by Christine A. Alsop.

If you will be attending the event, please stop by the RD Legal Funding booth to say hello and discuss how our post-settlement attorney fee financing solutions can smooth out your cash flow and boost your law firm’s bottom line. We look forward to seeing you there!

Experienced third party funders such as BridgePoint are conscious of the fact that plaintiffs are at a vulnerable stage in their lives when they approach a third party funder for financing. Most plaintiffs have very limited financial resources to see their litigation through to its end. Third party funders can provide flexible and creative solutions to keep financing costs down, such as staging the loan over a period of time rather than providing a lump sum at the outset or providing a smaller loan than requested and assessing further requests as the litigation progresses.

Another type of loan to the plaintiffs is used to pay for medical and rehabilitation benefits that have been terminated or denied by insurers pending the resolution of litigation. This type of loan allows plaintiffs to recover more quickly from their injuries and resume some semblance of their pre-accident life.

Other types of third party financing available in Canada include:

• Lines of credit to law firms primarily offering services under contingency fee arrangements to assist in financing disbursements for client files;
• Financing for disbursements not only in personal injury claims but also in commercial litigation and class and mass tort actions; and
• Cost indemnities in personal injury, class, and mass tort actions.

The first two of these types of funding allow the law firm to properly invest and pursue the litigation for the benefit of the plaintiff or class members.

The latter is a unique product to Canada as an unsuccessful litigant here can be ordered by the Court to pay some or all of the other side’s legal fees and disbursements. A concern that arises with respect to this type of product is whether or not discussions and agreements between the plaintiff and third party funders for this type of product are considered privileged. The caselaw is currently unsettled, especially in the class action field as some provincial Courts will recognize the agreement is privileged while others Courts do not.

Third party financing is still in its early stages in Canada. Ordinary financial institutions cannot meet this type of demand because the risks involved in litigation do not conform to a financial institution’s underwriting criteria for loans. Further, financial institutions do not provide cost indemnities. As a result, it is anticipated that the demand for such services will continue to rise in Canada.

This guest blog post was written by Grace Tsang of BridgePoint Financial Services Inc, a third-party litigation funding company based out of Toronto, Canada.

John Feal of the FealGood Foundation spoke on the issue. He described it as shameful for personal politics to get in the way of helping the victims. The sequestration pushed through automatic cuts at all levels of the government because of a failure to reach a deal between the Republicans and Democrats. The Zadroga Act was affected along with many other compensation programs. Approximately $27 million of Zadroga Act funds will not be disbursed if this bill doesn’t pass.

• RD Legal Funding’s role in the legal funding space
• The value RD Legal provides attorneys
• How post-settlement funding differs from pre-settlement funding
• How Fee Acceleration helps cash-strapped litigants improve their cash flow

Below is a recording of the interview. Please leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Furthermore, the economic crisis puts increased pressure on internal legal budgets, and corporations are becoming increasingly more cautious before initiating arbitral proceedings. Some are even likely to withdraw from the proceedings due to the costs.

Such environment has led to a situation where the decision to litigate is taken in consideration of other elements than the mere meritorious character of the legal claim. Considering that the right to receive compensation for an injured party was granted in Europe a fundamental value, it is effective access to justice which is at stake.

Litigation financing enables corporations to unlock the value of their commercial claims that are otherwise too expensive or risky to pursue. As a result of funding, the risk profile of pursuing litigation changes significantly and the short-term cash flow position is improved, thereby enabling a more strategic use of capital to create shareholder value. For a funded claimant, a funded case becomes a true valuable financial asset.

This explains why third-party funding (TPF) is growing and will continue to grow, even more so in Europe and in France where French lawyers are being forbidden from offering “no win no fee” arrangements.

TPF is well developed in many countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia. Until very recently and the launch of Alter Litigation in January 2013 it had received very little attention in France.

Arbitration: Costs are a Catalyst for the Shift

Even though major corporations continue to affirm the benefits of arbitration to resolve transnational disputes, they are increasingly focused on getting value from the arbitration process, which costs and delays have increased. Still, the cost involved in arbitration proceedings can be detrimental for those less inclined to afford it or for those who are no longer willing to take such a financial risk.

I see the development and success of arbitration in Europe and worldwide as a great avenue for the development of Alter Litigation.

However, even though TPF of international arbitration has been a growing phenomenon, receiving increasing attention from the international arbitration and litigation communities, it still remains relatively uncommon, as recent surveys show. Clients need to know about TPF and lawyers have a duty to tell.

This guest blog post was written by Frederic Pelouze of Alter Litigation, a French third-party litigation finance company. They fund a wide spectrum of claims throughout France and Europe, including commercial disputes, cartel damage claims, and international arbitration.