Litigation financiers provide capital to a party involved in litigation in exchange for a portion of the financial recovery from the lawsuit. For example, a finance group may agree to cover $1mm in legal expenses in exchange for $5mm of the recovery if the lawsuit is successful. If the case loses, the finance group completely loses their $1mm case investment.
Litigation finance is completely changing the way lawsuits are financed, yet it is still little understood by a large percentage of the legal world. By understanding this field as a law student, upcoming lawyers will put themselves at a huge advantage going into the practice of law - whether as a solo practitioner, in-house counsel, or working at a major law firm. Further, litigation finance groups are forming every year, and they are looking to hire lawyers that understand the field.
This seminar will explore third-party litigation financing from a financial and legal perspective. We will analyze the field in practical terms and from the perspectives of economic theory, public policy, and legal ethics.
Students will be graded on (1) class participation, (2) a group presentation, and (3) a final paper that will fulfill the upper division writing requirement. For the group presentation, students will pitch litigation finance to a theoretical investor and explain how it works and why an investor should supply them with capital. For the final paper, students will prepare a memorandum analyzing a legal case and determe whether or not it is a good investment opportunity from a variety of different perspectives.
Here is the format for a typical day in class:
1) Discussion of news and latest events in litigation finance
2) Discussion and analysis of the week’s reading assignments
3) Guest speaker (if applicable)
4) Group presentations (if applicable)
5) Class recap + opportunity to review next week’s readings, work-on presentations, ask questions, and discuss final paper