Although the business sphere has been notably reticent when it comes to embracing litigation financing, recent developments suggest this may be changing.
Longford Capital and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan recently entered into an agreement that proffers at least $40 million to foot the bill for the latter’s private equity clientele’s legal expenses. This unexpected alignment between the two firms may serve as a catalyst within the industry, compelling an increased acceptance of such tools to migrate corporate lawsuits from a viewed cost center to a potential asset.
Coaxing executives to recognize their litigation as a possible asset is by no means an easy feat. Yet the recent surge in multi-million dollar wins from plaintiff-side cases, attests to how major law agencies are enthusiastically scouting opportunities to share the risk associated with advocating high-value claims for their corporate clients.
In this light, the strategic partnership between Longford Capital and Quinn Emanuel offers a compelling example of how ventures are pivoting to make third-party financing decidedly more attractive to their corporate clienteles. This $40 million pact may very well set the benchmark for how law firms fragment and integrate third-party financing into their legal services moving forward.