The race for dominance among top commercial litigation financers continued this week, with UK-listed Burford Capital and Australia-listed Bentham IMF announcing that they are hiring Big Law veterans and expanding their operations in North America.
Burford Capital has plans to begin backing intellectual property matters—an area ripe for funding that the firm has previously avoided. It has hired Justin Daniels, a litigator with two decades of experience, to help lead the effort. CEO Christopher Bogart commented that the move is in response to ‘clear demand from the market.’
Bentham in Toronto
Separately, Bentham has announced that it has opened an office in Toronto, the first time that a major commercial litigation funder has opened an office in the Canadian market. The move comes after a Canadian judge issued a groundbreaking decision last year allowing a small UK commercial funder to finance litigation against Ontario’s Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
