May 25 Litigation Funding Conference in London Gathers Industry and Legal Leaders

A May 25, 2011 conference in London will bring together true industry leaders and legal thought leaders, including Justice Jackson. The agenda and registration are here for Maximising Opportunities in Litigation Funding.

Justice Jackson authored the leading report for the UK on litigation costs and funding. Background materials are here, as are links to the paper. Panel members will include Selvyn Seidel, a leader in this field.

The conference agenda is pasted below.

09:20 – 09:25 Chair’s opening remarks

Michael Napier CBE QC, Senior Partner, Irwin Mitchell LLP

09:25 – 10:00 Access to justice and third party funding

Lord Justice Jackson

1. Jackson review: recommendations on third party funding

2. What is the interaction between access to justice and third party funding?

10:00 – 10:45 Third party funding in practice

Susan Dunn, Head of Litigation Funding, Harbour Litigation Funding Limited

1. Considerations when accessing funding

2. What funding options are available?

3. What provisions should you expect to find in funding agreements?

4. How to make use of funding to maximise fee income for your practice

10:45 – 11:00 Coffee

11:00 – 11:45 Finding the right cases for funding

Click on cross to view speakers

1. David v Goliath – access to justice for SMEs

2. Risk sharing

3. Aggregating claims

Christian Stuerwald, Head of Underwriting, Calunius Capital LLP

Leslie Perrin, Chairman, Calunius Capital LLP

11:45 – 12:30 Conditional fee agreements

Paul Shenton, Managing Director, Just Costs Solicitors

1. Current issues and major developments

2. Assessing the impact of Campbell v MGN

3. Implications of ending the recoverability of success fees

4. What does the future hold?

12:30 – 13:30 Lunch

13:30 – 14:10 After-the-event insurance

Ashley Netherclift, Head of Underwriting, LawAssist

1. Potential risks for solicitors

2. Eligibility requirements

3. Interaction with third party funders

14:10 – 14:40 Contingency fees

Hardeep Nahal, Partner, Herbert Smith LLP

1. When can contingency fees be used?

2. The Ontario model

3. Contingency fees vs. third party funding

4. What are the implications of contingency agreements as a funding option?

14:40 – 15:20 Funding arbitration

Lord Daniel Brennan QC, Matrix Chambers

1. Funding investor-state arbitration

2. Differences in risk profiles between arbitration and litigation

3. Overview of arbitration funding

4. Contingency fees in arbitration

15:20 – 15:35 Afternoon Tea

15:35 – 16:15 Developments in European litigation funding

Click on cross to view speakers

1. Litigation funding and forum selection in Europe

2. The Dutch model

3. The German model

4. Future trends in Europe

Rob Murray, Partner, Crowell & Moring LLP

Pierre Bos, Partner, BarentsKrans

Till Schreiber, Legal Counsel, Cartel Damage Claims

16:15 – 17:00 Panel Session: The future of third party funding and after-the-event insurance

Click on cross to view speakers

1. How is the market going forward?

2. What are the investment opportunities?

3. Can third party funding be extended to the high-street?

Ross Clark, Underwriting Director, Firstassist Legal Expenses Insurance Limited

Selvyn Seidel, Chairman and Co-Founder, FULBROOK MANAGEMENT LLC

17:00 – 17:10 Chair’s closing remarks

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