Burford Quarterly | 2022 Legal Finance Trends

Bridging the legal/finance knowledge gap: Essentials to building an effective affirmative recovery program

Savvy companies are thinking about litigation as a revenue-generating activity—but many don't know where to start. We share the four steps in-house lawyers can take to develop a programmatic approach to assessing litigation and building effective affirmative recovery programs.

Equity Project Q&A: Diversity, equity and inclusion and the path forward for companies and law firms

In October of 2021, Burford launched the second phase of its award-winning Equity Project, which has as its centerpiece a $100 million pool of legal finance capital to back commercial litigation and arbitration led by female and racially diverse lawyers as well as a commitment to share a portion of profits with charities focused on the advancement of historically underrepresented lawyers upon the successful resolution of Equity Project backed matters.

Expert insights: Global opportunities in antitrust & competition

In January 2022 Kelly Daly and John Lazar directed questions concerning global trends in antitrust and competition to a respected group of law firm leaders. Their perspectives are gathered and excerpted below.

Trends in asset recovery

In 2022, creditors with unpaid judgments may continue to face severe resource constraints as well as obstacles in recovering monies owed to them, as recalcitrant debtors continue to evade enforcement. As courts reopen and countries adopt new regulations, asset recovery expertise will play a key role in creditors’ enforcement strategies.

Trends in IP and patent litigation

Intellectual property and patents shape corporate growth, credibility and profitability, but the litigation associated with IP and patents is known for its high cost, complexity and duration. In 2021, IP and patent litigation stakes were heightened by disputes related to Covid vaccine development and a spate of nine-figure mega-verdicts across industries. While it’s not news that patent litigation can result in very sizeable monetary damages, the uptick in activity nonetheless drew headlines.

Trends in bankruptcy and insolvency

Experts and non-experts alike predicted a wave of bankruptcies and insolvencies following the business disruption caused by Covid-19 in 2021. However, new filings globally were much lower than expected following historic levels of government support and easy access to cheap liquidity in the capital markets. Despite this, we expect new commercial filings to pick back up as government support around the world abates.