2022 ILFA Conference: Legal finance provides cash flow certainty
- Fees & expenses
- Monetization
At its inaugural annual conference on October 24 in New York, the International Legal Finance Association (ILFA) gathered a group of senior in-house and private practice lawyers to discuss how to set up an efficient and effective affirmative litigation strategy.
As Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of US hospitality company Aramark, Iaconelli’s is a clear reminder of the cash flow and timing benefits of legal finance. While pending litigation and arbitration claims often represent vast latent value to a company, they also carry a lot of uncertainty as to outcome and timing.
A significant legal finance growth area for companies is the acceleration of expected damages tied in a pending litigation or arbitration often called “monetization”. Essentially, rather than waiting for a matter to resolve, companies can work with a legal finance provider like Burford to obtain an advance of a portion of the expected value of value of a claim or judgment. The capital advance can be used for any business purpose, including reinvestment in innovation or future growth, and the company gains certainty around cash flows.
The panel was moderated by Sarah Tsou, Portfolio Manager, Global Intellectual Property and Senior Investment Manager, Omni Bridgeway, the panel included Terri Ahrens, Assistant General Counsel, Litigation, US Foods; Ian DiBernardo, Partner, Brown Rudnick; Blase Iaconelli, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Aramark; Steven Nachtwey, Partner, Bartlit Beck; Dan Nugent, General Counsel, Nestle Zone North America and Nestle USA.