Events

Introduction

Legal finance has attracted considerable attention in a number of important jurisdictions globally, particularly U.S., England and Australia. It is an important tool for corporations to manage litigation risks and enhance balance sheet efficiency, but is yet often underappreciated by general counsels, CFOs and corporate treasurers.

Dispute resolution is an essential responsibility of a corporate legal function, and it can demand considerable management time and financial resources. Cases are taking longer and costing more to litigate, so even well-funded organisations have an increasing need to manage exposure and lay off risks. Legal finance is a powerful tool in facilitating this process, and effectively transforms disputes from potential liabilities into assets.

The session will provide an understanding of how legal finance works, and how it could be used as a tool for optimising a company’s balance sheet and diversifying legal risks.

Seminar Content

• Single Case / Portfolio Financing. Classic litigation finance, where a third-party capital provider would pay for the expenses relating to the pursuit of a claim in return for a share of the recovery of the litigation (only upon a successful outcome).
• Asset Recovery. Where the capital provider would fund the post-settlement enforcement process or monetise the judgment or award obtained by the claimant.
• Legal Risk Management in Corporate Activities. Other ways of evaluating and monetizing legal risks include the underwriting of legal risks associated with corporate acquisition activities.

Speaker Profile

 Quentin Pak

Director, Burford Capital

Burford Capital is a leading global finance firm focused on law and the largest provider of strategic capital to the legal market. Its businesses include litigation finance and risk management, judgment enforcement and a wide range of legal finance and advisory activities. Burford is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, and it works with law firms and clients around the world from its principal offices in New York, Chicago, London and Singapore.

Quentin Pak is a Director responsible for running Burford’s office in Singapore and expanding Burford’s presence in Asia and Australia. Quentin has over 20 years’ experience in finance and law, most recently as Head of Commodities (Asia) at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. His previous experience includes senior positions at major global financial institutions including Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. Before going into banking, Quentin practised law for a number of years with Allen & Overy in both London and Singapore.