Recent developments in the way in which litigation can be funded may allow you to transfer a substantial part of the financial risk that you face in a dispute. There are considerable benefits to you if you can do this. However to do so, whether you are a claimant or a defendant, you will need to have a good chance of succeeding on some or all of your case. Establishing whether or not you have a good case (or part of a case) is the first step in the litigation funding process. We will identify with you the specific risk factors in your case in order to assess your prospects of success. We will analyse:

• the facts of your case and the people who are likely to give evidence on your behalf

• the documentation you have that is relevant to your dispute

• the legal basis for the claim against your opponent, or the legal basis for your defence

• your chances of succeeding

• the strength of any claims made as threatened against you by the defendant

• the level of damages/losses that you can expect to recover from your opponent

• the ability of your opponent to pay you

It is not always possible to answer all of these questions - to give a clear, unqualified view on your chances of success - at the start of a commercial dispute. Where it is possible, we will do so. Otherwise, we will advise you at the earliest opportunity we can if we consider that you might benefit from some form of funding solution. We have experience of implementing different forms of litigation funding both at the outset and part way through disputes. We have also been successful in putting in place funding for parts of cases, such as interim hearings, where we believe our client will succeed, regardless of what may happen during the remainder of the dispute.

If we think you have good prospects of success for some or all of your case, we agree with you what you want to achieve and therefore precisely what “success” will mean. The chances of achieving your objectives are often better than the chances of succeeding in full on all aspects of the claim. Understanding this is important, as it may affect the quality of the litigation funding terms that are available to you.

Finally, in addition to having a good case, it is vital that your opponent has the ability to pay you. Insurers and Third Party Funders will favour strongly those cases where your opponent is backed by insurance or has significant assets in the EU.