Statera’s Head of Originations, Stewart Ackerly, recently spoke on a panel hosted by the American Bar Association on commercial litigation finance. The panel, part of the ABA Business Law Section’s Spring Meeting, focused on how litigation finance works, the key ethical rules involved in financing, and a recent report commissioned by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware about transparency in litigation finance.
The panel was moderated by Kurt Heyman, founding partner at Heyman Enerio Gattuso & Hirzel LLP, and included Anne Foster, a Director and General Counsel at Richards Layton & Finger, and the Hon. Eric M. Davis. Judge Davis was a co-Chair of the Delaware Third Party Litigation Funding Committee, of which Heyman and Foster were members. The Committee engaged in extensive analysis and information gathering to study transparency in litigation finance and make recommendations for addressing any transparency issues in litigation finance in the Delaware state courts.
The Committee found that “[t]here do not appear to be any issues with the current use of third-party litigation funding in the Delaware state courts.” The Committee’s report observes that Chief Judge Connolly of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware has issued a standing order regarding litigation finance for matters before him. The Committee concluded that the issues Chief Judge Connolly is addressing are “disproportionately associated with patent cases” and do not affect practice in more traditional commercial disputes.
The Committee found that there could be value in considering a narrowly tailored rule that would authorize discovery of litigation finance agreements but only if the agreement gives the litigation finance firm control over the litigation. The rule would otherwise limit broader discovery on the subject. The Committee also recommended that any such rule should make clear that certain material routinely shared with a litigation finance firm, like case analysis, is work product.
About the ABA
Founded in 1878, the ABA is the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. The ABA is committed to advancing the rule of law across the United States and beyond by providing practical resources for legal professionals, law school accreditation, model ethics codes and more.
About the ABA Business Law Section
The ABA Business Law Section is a global network of over 30,000 business law professionals, practicing every area of business law. It serves its members, the profession, and the public by providing educational resources to its members, assisting members in serving their clients ethically and competently, and furthering the development and improvement of business law.
About Statera Capital
Statera Capital is a leading legal financing source for commercial disputes of nearly any size. With proprietary deal origination and evaluation strategies, the firm deploys capital responsibly and flexibly across a breadth of commercial claims, including breach of contract, business torts, intellectual property, insolvency, unfair competition, and qui tam. Statera invests at all dispute phases from pre-suit through trial, appeal, and monetization. While the firm will consider investments of any size, Statera particularly focuses on claims requiring $4 million or less in funding. More than just capital, Statera is a reliable partner that delivers creative solutions to our clients. For more information, visit www.stateracap.com.