Mark Dawkins Discusses Litigation Financing in HFMWeek Article

Akin Gump litigation partner Mark Dawkins has authored the article “The Long View,” which was published by HFMWeek and looks at the topic of litigation financing.

The article looks at litigation as an asset class, with Dawkins writing that interest in litigation funding has soared in recent years. He attributes this to a combination of factors, including the low interest rate environment that has limited distressed investment opportunities. Funds, therefore, have been “looking more widely for opportunities.” In addition, some funders have seen some “mouth-watering returns on investments.”

Dawkins identifies other reasons for the growth as a desire to invest in something that is not usually correlated to any other risk in one’s portfolio and technical factors that make litigation funding look more appealing.

Dawkins also warns about being cautious due to some potential pitfalls with litigation as an asset class. Among them, whether, as a third-party funder, one would have any obligation to make a contribution toward a winner’s legal costs when a loser is ordered to do so.

Despite all the challenges, Dawkins writes that interest in litigation financing is gaining in popularity. He observes that as more people become aware of “the potential attractions of having third-party litigation funding available, it looks like this growth should be set to continue for some years to come.”