Leading global disputes law firm HFW has agreed a £25 million portfolio litigation funding facility with Augusta Ventures.
The bespoke portfolio arrangement offers HFW’s clients expedited access to funding at competitive rates, assessed by a joint committee of Augusta and HFW Partners, who will identify cases that may qualify for such funding. HFW clients can also benefit from early access to up to £30,000 in funds to provide evidence to support their applications to the committee, where necessary.
Under the terms of the portfolio deal, Augusta will fund the entire cost of pursuing a claim, including legal and expert witness fees and other relevant disbursements. This arrangement provides HFW clients with ‘non-recourse’ funding, meaning claimants are not required to repay in the event that their claim fails. Augusta will only recover its investment from any amounts received from the defendant.
Head of HFW LITIGATION, Noel Campbell:
“HFW has one of the largest and most active disputes practices with over 350 lawyers, across Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. This deal with Augusta enhances our global offering and reflects our commitment to continuously improve our service to clients.”
HFW LITIGATION and Innovation Partner, Brian Perrott:
“This deal with Augusta provides improved accessibility to dispute resolution funding for our clients. For the funding of disputes with Augusta we have agreed preferential terms that will save our clients time, money and mean they pay nothing if their claim fails.”
HFW Funding Committee Partner, Adam Strong:
“HFW Litigation has a funding committee consisting of experienced litigators, who consider funding for litigation, arbitration, and mediation matters. This deal with Augusta allows our clients to pursue meritorious cases that may otherwise not have proceeded due to financial constraints. It provides our clients with greater choice and, from our perspective, that is always a positive development.”
Robert Hanna, Managing Director, Augusta Ventures:
“We are delighted to be working with the UK’s most active commercial litigation firm, HFW, on providing portfolio funding for their clients’ litigation and disputes. Augusta has built a market-leading reputation for our team and processes, which enable access to justice. We are looking forward to applying these to help HFW’s clients secure the funding they need to pursue meritorious claims.”
HFW has one of the largest and most active disputes practices in the market, covering litigation, international arbitration and alternative forms of dispute resolution.
Independent court data published by The Lawyer revealed HFW to be the most active law firm for litigation in the English Commercial Court over a four-year period, from 2015 to 2018.
Augusta is the UK’s largest litigation and disputes funder by case volume.